Thirty councils across the UK are paying less than £500 a week for an older person in an independent (charitable or private) residential care home, according to independent care providers association Care England.

This is in stark contrast to what Care England labels an “economically run residential home” which typically spends between £623 to £726 a week for an older person, depending on the standard of accommodation and whether or not they are supporting people living with dementia.

Care England’s analysis also showed that some councils it investigated