Social care in North Wales could collapse due to a £40 million 'ruinous' Budget, experts have warned.

Care Forum Wales (CFW) said the measures announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves pose a 'greater threat than Covid' to the sector, and warned care homes and domiciliary care companies will be forced to close.

CFW chair Mario Kreft MBE, said the only way to avert the "impending crisis" is for the social care sector to be granted an NHS-style exemption from the increases to employers’ National Insurance contributions, as well as support to meet other additional costs.

With a 1.2 per cent rise in Employer National Insurance contributions and a cut to the secondary threshold to £5,000, alongside the five per cent increase in the Real Living Wage to £12.60, CFW has calculated the sector in North Wales faces a £40 million funding hole.

In Wales as a whole, that amounts to a gap of £150 million.

According to CFW, 40 care homes in Wales have already been forced to close since the onset of the Covid pandemic, with at least four of them in North Wales, resulting in a combined loss of 163 beds.

This is at a time when demand is increasing, with the over 85 population set to double over the next 20 years.

Mr Kreft said: "Without an exemption from these additional and potentially ruinous costs -whether that comes from the UK Government or extra funding from the Welsh Government – many care homes and nursing homes and home care companies face a real existential threat.

"These measures will see average size care homes facing extra costs of tens of thousands of pounds, with larger care providers facing even heftier bills amounting to hundreds of thousands.

"The social care sector already has large wage costs compared to other industries because of the number of workers it needed.

"To put it into context, a typical residential home where people don’t need nursing has a wage bill as a proportion to turnover of about 60 per cent.

"That rises in nursing homes to 65 per cent and more.

"For domiciliary care the percentage of wages to turnover is over 80 per cent.

"So when you look at the context of those figures and add it to what we have seen in the Budget, it’s a triple whammy."

Mr Kreft’s concerns were echoed by Anglesey care home director Kim Ombler.

She owns Glan Rhos Care Home at Brynsiencyn with her sister Helen and brother David.

The home has 52 beds and the family have been running the business for 35 years.

They have calculated that the Budget is going to cost Glan Rhos an extra £127,000 a year.

Ms Ombler believes the sector could collapse without additional support to ensure its survival.

She said: "We are incredibly worried about changes in the Budget on the crucial services we provide.

"We care for 52 residents and want to be able to continue to recruit staff and continue providing the best quality care.

"The Budget makes this extremely difficult."

CFW has called for prompt reassurances that the sector will be reimbursed for the extra costs.