Lincolnshire health bosses have warned that increasing the pay of home care staff could result in reduced services in other areas amid national calls for fairer rates.

The Homecare Association believes carers should be paid a minimum of £25.95 per hour, but the average UK rate stands at £21.56.

In Lincolnshire, the average home carer receives £21.89 an hour, with prices ranging from £19 to £25.65. However, the average wage has risen by £5.04 since 2021.

Comparative data from areas like the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board and North East Lincolnshire highlight regional disparities.

The Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board pays an average of £24.08 per hour for homecare, ranking among the top quartile of health bodies in England and Wales.

In contrast, North East Lincolnshire's average hourly rate is significantly lower at £18.55.

Martin Samuels, Executive Director of Adult Care and Community Wellbeing at Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), voices concerns about the financial implications.

"LCC uses a model for determining fee rates that considers the actual costs of delivering care. We have a commercial relationship with just nine providers, and our rates are based on a market assessment with these providers," Samuels explains.

"Rates are set at levels that allow providers to pay at least the National Living Wage. LCC developed its rate model based on a market assessment completed by our commissioned providers.

"This assessment included their indicative costs of provision and informed the rates that are in place."

He said the model had to reflect the financial position of the authority and that there had not been any "major provider exits" or cuts to the volume of care the authority could order offered "reassurance that fee rates are set at a realistic level".

"If we increased rates to the HA levels, these costs would have to come from existing budgets, which could only be a reduction of service across other strands of LCC's activity," he said.

"Whilst we would take the HA report into consideration, our rate is informed through the modelling we have done with providers in Lincolnshire."

Overall, however, he said that providers were telling the council they were able to recruit and retain staff and have "more than sufficient" capacity to meet care delivery demands.

The council's budget for home care services for 2023-24 is £26.1 million.

LCC this year took advantage of the government's offer to increase adult social care as a separate precept to general council tax – rising by 2%.

Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board had not responded at the time of publication.

A spokesperson said other demands left the organisation not in a position to respond.

The Homecare Association says that prolonged lack of government funding has increased the occurrence and risks of poor workforce experience; higher staff turnover; increased unmet need; poor quality care; and reduced sustainability of services.

Data showed that only 5% of UK public organisations paid the minimum price for homecare calculated by the Homecare Association.

Dr. Jane Townson OBE, CEO of the Homecare Association, emphasizes the critical role of investment in the sector. "Investing in homecare enhances wellbeing and reduces NHS pressure.

"Successive governments have starved councils and the care sector of the funding vital to achieve these aspirations," she asserts.

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care acknowledges the sector's challenges and highlighted their plans to reform the workforce, improve qualifications, and address progression opportunities.

They stated, "We are providing up to £8.1bn over two years to support homecare, putting it on a stronger footing for the future and addressing workforce pressures."