STRUGGLING care homes in Darlington are facing a new financial pressure, according to a health care agency.

Some homes face closure because of disagreements over the level of contributions from the local authority and costly improvements they were forced to make under the Care Standards Act.

Now care homes are facing a 100 per cent fee increase for criminal records checks, according to health care staff agency Abacus Care.

Nigel Fielding, managing director of Abacus Care, believes the Government's announcement that the cost of standard disclosure checks by the Criminal Records Bureau will double from Tuesday, July 1, could be the last straw for many care homes.

Care staff will have to pay a £24 fee for a standard disclosure, compared with the present £12 charge.

Mr Fielding said: "We know that many of the owners cover the cost of the checks for their staff rather than passing it on to the carers themselves.

"It is the honest, hard-working care home owners who make sure that they comply with the law that will end up closing because they are already struggling to meet the financial demands being put on them by the Care Standards Act.

"Although the amounts may not look a lot, they mount up according to the number of staff taken on, and it is a high price to pay for an industry that is already investing huge amounts in adaptations and staff costs to make sure they meet the requirements."