Council social services are under increasing pressure because private sector care homes are shutting down during the recession, the LGA has warned. A LGA study published on 9 April revealed 15% of councils in England had already reported that care home closures were putting pressure on local services as desperate relatives sought new homes or additional care for vulnerable adults. Demographic changes, tightening town hall budgets and rising private care costs have combined to catapult the adult social care crisis to the top of town hall priority lists in recent years. But the recession is now taking away a key source of alternative care – private sector homes. LGA chairman Margaret Eaton said: ‘People who live in care homes are some of the most vulnerable. Any warning signs that there could be problems providing places need to be identified in good time.' Unison general secretary, Dave Prentis, has called for elderly care services to be brought back in-house. Mr Prentis claimed: ‘Privatisation has left councils with no control over the quality of home care.'
