A LEADING Labour councillor in Worcestershire has voiced concern Brexit could result in staffing problems for care homes.

Councillor Peter McDonald, who leads the county council's Labour group, says an exodus of EU nationals in the coming years would see many of Worcestershire's care homes struggle to find workers due to low pay.

Bosses at County Hall say there are 209 care homes across Worcestershire, with only six under direct council control and the rest owned by private organisations.

The CQC (Care Quality Commission) says 62 per cent of them have less than 20 beds and only a handful have more than 60, with many relying on EU nationals to fill rotas.

Councillor McDonald says he is concerned many workers may opt to head home, with British people less likely to be attracted by the low pay.

"We will have less people coming in from the EU and one of the consequences of that will be, there will have to be increases in salaries in order to encourage people to take the jobs and make them more attractive in light of Brexit," he said.

He also raised his concerns during a full council meeting, where he asked the leadership what plans they had to try and mitigate the impact.

Councillor Sheila Blagg, the cabinet member responsible for adult social care, said there was "a large number of providers" in the county.

She added: "The situation is not of our own making in terms of the employment market.

"The rate of pay in the West Midlands as a whole is better than Worcestershire, but it's not just one issue, this is a multi-complex problem."

She said Worcestershire's rural nature was an additional problem, as many workers need a car to travel from one care home setting to another.

Some 89 per cent of care home workers in Worcestershire are female, and many of the buildings are owned by large conglomerates.

Prime Minister Theresa May has refused to guarantee the three million EU nationals in Britain will be able to stay.

There are also 1.2 million Brits living in other EU nations.

New Brexit secretary David Davis will be taking the lead on trying to establish what future lies ahead for EU nationals living in the UK - with Worcester MP Robin Walker under his wing as a junior minister.