COUNCIL officers have been given fewer than 48 hours to come up with answers to a demanding catalogue of questions about how the authority finances care staff who provide home visits in the city.

Bradford Council is examining the way it finances care, mainly provided through private companies, for those who are able to live at home but need the assistance of visiting carers.

Tomorrow a meeting of the council's health scrutiny committee will take place to hear answers from its own officials about the way the those care services are organised.

A preliminary meeting was held last night to allow councillors to draw up the questions they want answered and to allow the organisations representing care providers and those who need assistance to contribute.

The result was a list of more than two dozen questions and councillors were told that officers might struggle to get complete answers to them all in time for Friday.

It is expected that the committee will come up with a set of recommendations which will be put to the council's ruling executive for possible changes to the arrangements.

Yesterday's meeting heard from Konrad Czajka, chairman of Bradford Care Association, who said payments by the Council have barely changed in more than a decade.

He told the meeting: "The issue here is simple. We are looking at a real term decrease in the price paid by the Council.

"In 2001 most providers and most of the independent sector were going out at £12 per hour.

"In 2015 we are going out at £12.50. Some of us are going out for less than that. It is about recruitment and retention of staff.

"There are questions here about zero hours contracts and the minimum wage.

"The questions are why have the local authority allowed a real terms decrease in the price paid?

"Why have we had no increase in the actual cost of care? No-one has asked about the cost of care," he said.

Many of the questions raised surround the quality of care received by those who rely on the help, which can be provided in slots measured in 15 minute packages.

Councillors questioned the real value which could be achieved from a 15 minute visit and whether that included travelling time.

The also raised the issue of zero hours contracts and whether it was possible for the council to organise its contracts in a way which precluded the practice.

Although the answers are expected at tomorrow's session, the meeting was told that the council was moving towards using a smaller number of preferred businesses to provide the bulk of its work.

That would mean those companies would find it easier to guarantee work for their staff because they would have a clearer understanding about the level of work they could expect from the authority.

Officers have also been asked to come up with information on possible 'price shunting' and whether work for Bradford Council is effectively being subsidised by private individuals who pay companies wholly for their own care.