Care home owners in Birmingham have gone to the High Court to force the council to pay more money to look after elderly residents.

A group of residential home owners is claiming the council does not meet the true cost of places in a care home.

They claim homes could be put out of business because the social services chiefs want to impose "unviable, uncommercial" rates.

And the Birmingham Care Consortium (BCC) was joined in the action by five elderly residents, including one who is over 100, who fear the council's stance could limit their choice of where they can live.

'Financial suicide'

Robin Green, for the BCC, said the council had wrongly adopted a blanket policy of not even considering paying the fees suggested by the BCC, which reflected the real cost of looking after the elderly.

The High Court heard the BCC had written to the council in May describing a proposed 3% increase in fees as "inadequate" because it did not relate to the real cost of care.

We have an increasing aged population but a decreasing amount of care homes

Mike Gimson

The council then decided not to make any new placements at homes belonging to BCC members who had refused to accept the council's terms and conditions.

The council argued that it should not spend more public money than necessary to cover costs private homes.

The council also said that three quarters of the city's private homes had signed up to their fees.

But the BCC claimed many of them had no alternative to signing up or the banks would close them down.

Acceptance of the lower fees was no evidence, said the BCC, that they were viable fees.

'Disaster recipe'

Since January last year, 80 care homes have closed in the city.

After Wednesday's court hearing, the BCC said whatever the outcome, elderly care in Birmingham was in difficulties.

The BCC's Mike Gimson said: "We have an increasing aged population but a decreasing amount of care homes.

"That for me is a recipe for disaster and we are seeing it now in the bed blocking taking place in Birmingham."

A judgement will given at a later date.