Norfolk County Council is continuing negotiations to sell Norse Care Limited — its residential care homes business — to Stow Healthcare, after an in-principle agreement was reached in January 2026.

A short-term extension to the Norse Care residential care contract has been granted to keep services running for residents while due diligence, detailed negotiations and transition planning are completed.

Councillors have raised concerns that the talks are being conducted entirely in private, leaving elected members unable to scrutinise the terms of a deal that will affect some of Norfolk's most vulnerable residents.

Cllr Jo Smith called on the Cabinet Member for Commercial Assets and Revenue Generation to pause the sale and allow councillors to examine the agreement. The Cabinet Member refused, saying that disclosing commercially sensitive information during live negotiations could harm the Council's negotiating position and ultimately the interests of residents.

The Cabinet Member said full details would be shared with councillors once negotiations have concluded, subject to legal and confidentiality requirements.

Norse Care Limited operates residential care homes across Norfolk. The original in-principle decision to sell to Stow Healthcare was taken by Cabinet on 26 January 2026, with final transfer details and value to be settled through governance arrangements approved at that time.

The contract extension does not change that decision, the Cabinet Member confirmed, but is intended to ensure uninterrupted care for home residents during the transition period.