Union says plan to save Derbyshire care home is ‘cold comfort’ for eight facing closure

A union chief has welcomed news that Derbyshire County Council has confirmed negotiations are underway with an interested party to take over and secure the future of one of its endangered care homes but he feels this is ‘cold comfort’ for those affected by the feared closure of eight other facilities.

The Reform UK council’s planned sale of eight of its care homes to a single provider collapsed and left them facing closure but the authority has now confirmed that negotiations with an ‘established care provider’ are underway for the lease of a ninth facility – Ada Belfield care home, in Belper.

UNISON Derbyshire Branch Secretary Martin Porter described the latest announcement as a ‘victory’ for their union members, for care home residents and for Belper people who campaigned with the Belper Together action group as it now appears staff will keep their jobs but he added this is ‘cold comfort’ for the other eight affected care homes.

He said: “UNISON Derbyshire is pleased that it appears that this wonderful home will continue to operate, and that its amazing staff will keep their jobs. This is a victory for our members, the residents’ families and the local people in Belper who have marched, rallied and lobbied to save Ada Belfield.

“They have run a tremendous campaign and should be very proud of themselves.

“However, this is still the privatisation of a public service that Derbyshire council taxpayers have spent millions of pounds on.

“The new owner will now get the benefit of this investment, and in addition will be able to charge what they want for future admissions – and Derbyshire County Council will be forced to pay.

“This news will also be cold comfort to the staff and former residents of the other eight care homes that are closing.

“Those staff and residents were given this news just before Christmas, after they had been reassured by the previous administration that their homes too were safe.

“The Reform UK councillors who have allowed this to happen – something that was not in their election manifesto – have some questions to answer.”

The former Conservative-controlled council originally agreed to cease to operate nine care homes while managing a multi-million pound budget deficit after it argued a need to refocus adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home due to what it claimed was a decline in demand for residential care, and the new Reform UK council administration took up the strategy and following the collapsed sale of eight of its care homes in December to a single private provider and their feared closure, the authority has now confirmed that Ada Belfield is subject to negotiations with a care provider to take over the running of the facility.

The council confirmed that it has offered a commercial lease for the whole site, including the care home and library which will be unaffected by any new leasing arrangements and will continue to be run by the council.

It added that it has only considered providers registered with the Care Quality Commission with experience and expertise in the running of registered residential care or nursing homes to a good or outstanding standard.

Cabinet member for Adult Care, Cllr Joss Barnes, said the council was working through the details with the company and as the home was due to be transferred as a going concern, there were not expected to be any changes to the day-to-day care for residents.

He added that the council is confident that the staff who support the residents ‘will move with them’ under the new provider so that their care and relationships remain consistent.

Cllr Barnes said: “I’m pleased to announce that we’re working with a provider on the future operation of Ada Belfield Centre.

“It’s very early days in the negotiations but we wanted to make sure our residents and their families, along with our valued colleagues, were kept informed of what was happening.

“Their wellbeing is our top priority and I recognise it’s been an uncertain time for them since the decision was made in 2024, and I thank them for their patience.

“We’re cautiously optimistic and as soon as we have more information we’ll let them know, keeping them informed along the way.”

The council says discussions are ongoing regarding Ada Belfield and that it is likely to be several weeks before specific details can be confirmed.

Cllr Barnes thanked residents and their families for their patience as well as the council’s ‘fantastic care colleagues’ who he says have continued to offer exceptional care to residents.

He has previously said that the current care staff would transfer as part of arrangements and that current residents would not incur additional costs as a result of moving to the new provider.

Belper Together campaigners opposed the council’s plans to cease to operate, sell-off or lease its care homes including Ada Belfield with concerns about privatisation and worries for the future of residents and staff as well as the home’s library and cafe.

Di Houlden, of Belper Together, echoed UNISON’s concerns because she fears it will be more expensive for the council to maintain residents in private facilities because without public sector provision at an affordable price she claims private operators will have free rein to raise their fees.

Ms Houlden has argued that unlike the council which is statutorily obliged to provide adult social care, the objective of private companies is to make a profit.

She is concerned for the potential costs for the council in the future of finding places and needing to fund the difference in fees between public and private care and she is also afraid of possible council staff redundancies.

Belper Together campaigner Keith Venables said: “We are shocked in Belper that such a valuable resource as Ada Belfield is taking so long to move to the next stage of ownership. Of course, we would prefer Ada Belfield to be in public hands but the priority now is to get things sorted and welcome more residents into the care home.”

The former Conservative council based its original decision to cease to operate the homes on a need to refocus adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home due to what it claimed was a decline in demand for residential care – a strategy adopted by the new Reform UK council which took control after the May election.

The UNISON union has opposed the council’s plans for the care homes and feared closures from the very start, led protests, organised public meetings, lobbied Westminster and repeatedly urged the council to rethink plans it says risk uprooting vulnerable residents and breaking up experienced care teams.

Opposition Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party councillors also joined campaigners and concerned residents in a failed bid to stop the former Conservative council agreeing to sell the original eight care homes.

They argued the net savings of the decision were not stipulated in a relevant report and that no account was taken in the report of any possible increase in expenditure resulting from the decision.

Opposition councillors argued the decision will have a detrimental effect on some of the most vulnerable older people and the changes do not take into account an increasingly older population and what they believe is an increasing demand for residential care.

Nine Labour MPs also appealed to the former Conservative council administration in 2024 to reconsider its proposals to cease to operate, sell and potentially close the care homes after they claimed this could prove to be ‘devastating’ with ‘serious consequences’.

The eight care homes the former Conservative council agreed in November 2024 to stop operating and to sell included: Briar Close, at Borrowash; Castle Court, at Swadlincote; The Grange, at Eckington; Lacemaker Court, at Long Eaton; The Leys, at Ashbourne; New Bassett House, at Shirebrook; Rowthorne, at Swanwick; And Thomas Colledge House, at Bolsover.

UNISON is convinced these eight care homes face closure after their failed sale and following strong public opposition and warnings about the plans from unions, families and campaigners about the impact on vulnerable residents and staff.

The council stated the focus of its in-house care homes is now upon wraparound care for the growing number of people with dementia and their carers including long-term specialist dementia care coupled with respite day and night breaks while working with health partners to increase the number of community support beds to help with timely discharges from hospital.

Cllr Barnes said this move follows a decline in demand for traditional residential care as people choose to stay in their homes for as long as possible and by the time they need to go into care they need more intensive support, such as nursing care, which the council cannot legally provide.

He has said the council had marketed the eight care homes on an individual basis and offers were invited for both single, multiple homes or as a whole package and the authority worked intensively to sell them all as going concerns but unfortunately the sale to a single provider could not be progressed.

Cllr Barnes also said he has been ‘devastated’ over the failed sale and that each care home resident is being supported with a dedicated case worker, families are being consulted and kept involved in the process, and that staff will also be supported with redeployment and employment processes.

He has said supporting older and disabled people is one of the council’s highest priorities and it is absolutely committed to maintaining and developing quality residential and home care in Derbyshire.

The council has been urged by UNISON to save the eight care homes facing feared closure with backing from four Derbyshire Labour MPs including NE Derbyshire’s Louise Sandher-Jones, Chesterfield’s Toby Perkins, Mid Derbyshire’s Jonathan Davies and South Derbyshire’s Samantha Niblett.

Union campaigners also descended upon the Houses of Parliament in March to meet the Minister for Social Care Stephen Kinnock with concerns over the feared closure of eight Derbyshire County Council care homes.

Derbyshire UNISON Branch Secretary, Mr Porter, has argued the union firmly believes in non-profit making public service provision of care but its wider concern is that provision will vanish altogether leaving future Derbyshire citizens in an impossible position unless the council can arrange a sale for the remaining care homes.

The union says the planned closure of eight care homes for older people will leave just a handful of care homes run by the council across the county and it pleaded with Mr Kinnock to do everything possible to prevent what they called a ‘dire scenario’.

UNISON says it would prefer these eight homes to stay in public ownership but would accept a transfer to a private care owner if it could save them and the union added that it knew of at least one potential buyer for The Grange, on Southgate, at Eckington.