Norfolk County Council Scraps Planned Sale of Norse Care Homes

Norfolk County Council has abandoned plans to sell 20 care homes and the company that runs them, after a review concluded that going ahead would not serve the authority’s interests.

The proposal would have transferred ownership of the homes, together with the council-owned operator Norse Care, to an outside provider. It prompted unease among opposition councillors at the Reform UK-led authority, some of whom feared the move could push up fees for residents. The council has now confirmed it is withdrawing the plan.

Nick Taylor, cabinet member for commercial assets, said the administration no longer regarded the sale as the strongest option available and was looking at alternatives. A council spokesperson said senior officers were exploring solutions with a more local focus.

The homes are spread across the county, with several in and around Norwich and in most of Norfolk’s other major towns.

Norse Care is part of Norse Group, which is owned by the council but operates independently. It currently manages 17 care homes in Norfolk and owns three further homes that are closed. Its contract to run the council’s homes was due to expire in March, which triggered the review of the service’s future.

The sale had been agreed under the previous Conservative administration, which lost control of the council at the May elections. That administration had selected Stow Healthcare, an East Anglia-based firm that belongs to an international care group, to take over the homes and the service.

With the sale cancelled, Norse Care will carry on managing the council’s care services. Scott Hussey, cabinet member for adult social care, sought to reassure those connected to the company that services would continue as normal while the council worked with officers on a long-term solution for Norfolk.

Former Conservative council leader Kay Mason Billig said the authority was losing millions of pounds a year running the homes and asked for clearer information on what happens next and what cancelling the deal will cost. She argued that the council lacks the funds to modernise the buildings, and that the earlier plan had aimed to bring in a provider who would be contractually obliged to protect staff and residents and keep the homes open.

Green group leader Maxine Webb criticised the way negotiations had been handled, saying they took place behind closed doors and that residents were given no say or information about the implications. She said care should not be sold off for private profit.

A Liberal Democrat group spokesperson welcomed the decision but said it should not be the end of the matter. The spokesperson said the homes need investment and a secure, sustainable future, and that residents, families and staff deserve certainty and support.