Plans for a compulsory ‘death tax’ to fund free care for the elderly would unfairly punish 700,000 carers who look after older relatives, the Tories said yesterday.

Nottingham City Council has moved to reassure the parents and carers of people with learning disabilities about future services.

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.

HUNDREDS of vulnerable adults have suffered abuse or neglect in Sefton, it has been alleged. Sefton Council has begun investigations into 559 complaints of sexual, physiological, physical, financial, discriminatory, and institutional abuse and neglect made by those accessing adult social care in Sefton.

The government is under pressure to back a compulsory fee to pay for social care in England. The Department of Health is currently hosting a meeting of charities, council chiefs and care providers in a bid to achieve a consensus on reforming care.

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to replace a popular old people’s home with a new ‘care village’ has been given the go-ahead.

Council bosses plan to slash the number of Cheshire East social workers by nearly half to 58. But Cheshire East Council (CEC) insist the system will be more efficient – with those remaining dealing with more cases and less paperwork.