A company with six care homes in Pembrokeshire has revealed it’s facing a £150,000 hit as a result of controversial Budget measures.

The hikes in National Insurance payments, as well as increases in the Real Living Wage, will see care homes facing "12 months of instability" - according to Mike Davies the managing director of Sunset West Care Homes’ holding company Dale Roads Group Ltd.

The group’s six care homes include - Woodland Lodge Residential Home in Tenby; Pen-Coed Residential Home in Saundersfoot; and Woodfield Nursing Residential Home in Narberth; .

Its other homes are - Pembroke Haven in Pembroke Dock; Torestin Care Home in Tiers Cross near Haverfordwest; and Langton Hall Residential Home in Fishguard.

Mr Davies predicted some struggling care homes will have to ask families to help meet the cost of the care of their loved ones.

He is supporting a new campaign launched by Care Forum Wales (CFW) calling for social care to receive an NHS-style exemption from the National Insurance increases or emergency financial support to stop care homes and domiciliary care companies going bust.

CFW chair Mario Kreft MBE is leading the group’s new campaign, Save Social Care, Save the NHS.

He has outlined the organisation’s stark warning in a letter to Welsh MPs, Senedd members along with First Minister Eluned Morgan and Health Minister Jeremy Miles.

A similar letter has gone to Prime Minister Kier Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The campaign is being supported by the Five Nations Group which represents care organisations from across the UK and Eire.

They all agree that third sector providers, including charities and hospices, will also be put at risk by the “ruinous measures” contained in the Budget.

Mr Davies said his company’s six care homes were facing an additional total bill of more than £130,000 just to meet the National Insurance increase.

On top of that the company has also calculated the costs of paying Statutory Sick Pay on the first day of sickness for the group, based on current levels of sickness, would incur an annual cost of an extra £18,000 .

And he said the group, which has 169 registered beds, would take another financial hit to meet the cost of the wage hike unless extra funding was provided by Cardiff Bay and Westminster.

Mr Davies, who has been involved in the care sector for more than 30 years, said the additional costs outlined in the Budget were a further blow to care homes which were still trying to recover from the Covid emergency.

He said: “I really believe we will be going into uncharted territory.

“The social care sector in Pembrokeshire will become unstable.

“We have seen home closures already and the likelihood going forward is the smaller operator will find it more difficult .

“We are relying on additional money to meet the new costs.”

He said where that required extra funding following the Budget would come from would be a key question; and that the local authority might have to step in to help.