The City of York Council has hit back at claims that it is not paying independent care home proprietors the rate for the job.

As reported in the Evening Press last week, the claim was made at the annual conference of the York and North Yorkshire Independent Care Group (ICG) at York Racecourse, when some private homes complained that low profit margins meant they could be blown out of existence by an emergency.

York's weekly fee for straight nursing care was said to be between £30 and £40 below a recommended level.

But a spokeswoman for City of York said: "We have been working with the ICG for over three years now to move closer to an agreed 'fair price' for care.

"In the last three years we have increased fees to providers by between 13 and 17 per cent.

"We do accept that there is still a gap between what we can afford to pay suppliers and what would constitute a 'fair price' in York.

"But that gap is not as great as has been stated. From our negotiations with the ICG we estimate it to be between £10 and £20 per week."

The spokeswoman said that at the conference in York, William Laing, who is the established authority on monitoring the care market, had commented that York's fees compared well with most other local authorities "and we will continue to work with the ICG on the issue".

North Yorkshire County Council also came in for criticism from the conference.

Mr Laing, author of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's research, A Fair Price For Care, used his own figures to demonstrate the regional shortfall.

His recommended fee for straight nursing care in basic standard homes was £483 per week - and a spokesman for ICG said that North Yorkshire County Council's general fee was between £429 and £436.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council said that Derek Law, director of social services, had decided not to respond.

Updated: 11:11 Thursday, October 06, 2005