'Absolute desperation' for care homes facing 300 per cent rise in energy bills

The new prime minister is being urged to provide immediate help for a care sector in "absolute desperation" at forthcoming price hikes – with the industry having no protection from a price cap.

The situation is exacerbated by the vulnerabilities of people looked after by the care sector, with care homes unable to simply cut back on heating.

Debbie Price, chief executive of Coverage Care, which has 12 care homes in Shropshire, said the latest challenge was yet another blow for a sector which has faced huge difficulties since the start of the pandemic.

She said the firm had budgeted for a 70 per cent increase in its energy bills but that the latest quote was a 300 per cent rise on its current price – and would result in a hike of £500,000 on the yearly bill.

The chief executive added that the company had given them until 3pm on the same day to agree the price, or to call back the following day when it may have changed.

She also said other providers have told her of being faced with 400 per cent increases and said the issue needed to be the Government's "biggest priority".

She said: "I do not know where the Government thinks this money is coming from, we simply do not have it and we cannot compromise care by not having the heating on."

She added: "This is affecting every single care company across the country.

"There is absolute desperation in the sector really and we need the Government to give an absolute assurance they will look at this as a matter of urgency."

She added: "Otherwise there will be many, over the next probably 12 months, many providers who cannot afford to continue to provide their services with this knock-on of one increase after another.

"The knock-on effect of that is hospitals won't be able to discharge people into care homes – where people would go I do not know."

Ms Price said steps needed to be taken to protect the industry and the people it cares for.

She said: "We need to have an energy price cap and if necessary there needs to be some kind of grant like Covid, because it will be as big a crisis as Covid was."