Isle of Wight upset over care contracts

THE disparity in contracts awarded to Island and mainland companies is disgraceful, it has been claimed. It has emerged the Isle of Wight Council awarded two social care contracts, together worth around £3.8million, to Island company Wight Home Care and Essex-based Two Counties — paying the companies very different hourly rates for providing the same service.

Both provide home care services for the elderly but Wight Home Care was awarded its contract at an hourly rate of £13.50, while it is understood Two Counties receives £15.50 per hour.

Mark Howell, the council’s acting director of community services, said, following a tendering process, the contracts were awarded on the grounds of best value for the service provided.

“We are meeting these providers to discuss contractual arrangements,” he added.
But Wight Home Care director Diane Radcliffe said Island companies were at a disadvantage when competing for contracts.

“Two Counties is quite a large, established mainland business, so it’s not a level playing ground,” she said.

“I fully expected another Island agency to get the contract awarded to Two Counties and we were quite shocked it went to a mainland company with no previous presence on the Island.

“I think Isle of Wight home care should be carried out by Island companies.”

One anonymous industry source said: “This really is a disgraceful situation and questions need to be asked about the disregard for Island companies and the inequalities engendered by paying vastly different sums of money to service providers for the same provision.”