Care homes may be forced to close unless there is urgent Scottish Government intervention to protect them, a social care sector body has warned.

Scottish Care said it is highlighting the need for investment following the "virtual breakdown" of discussions with the Scottish Government and other bodies on the issue.

Each year Scottish Care, the representative body of providers of care homes for older people, is involved in discussions with Cosla and representatives of the new Integrated Health and Social Care Boards (IJBs) to set the annual fees for nursing and residential care in Scotland.

Scottish Care said it believes that it will be impossible for its membership, which includes several hundred family run care homes and many care charities, to accept what is in effect the offer of a less than 1% increase, without putting their homes at very real risk of closure.

The offer made by Cosla and the IJBs is limited by the funds made available to them by Scottish Government and the impact of a reduced Local Government Settlement, it said.

Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, said: "It is with very deep regret that we have decided to make public the virtual breakdown of our discussions with Scottish Government and others. We believe that it is no longer acceptable for us to remain silent about the lack of investment which the Government is prepared to make in the care home sector in Scotland.

"Despite new monies being allocated in England following last week's budget there is no indication that Scottish Government will seek to benefit social care in Scotland.

"In recent months providers have been faced with substantial increases in the cost of fuel, food and other commodities, averaging around 8.5%. A less than 1% increase will simply not enable care homes to stay in business."

He said that many nursing homes are finding it impossible to recruit nurses, with a one in four vacancy level and care homes having to pay as much as £800 a night to find a nurse to meet gaps.

Dr Macaskill said: "I recognise that we live in hard times faced as we all are with austerity and public sector cuts. But at present a nursing home is allocated only £3.85 per hour for the 24/7 nursing care of thousands of our vulnerable older people, the majority of whom are in a palliative or end of life context.

"For me this isn't so much about finance but about the price we are prepared to pay for preserving the dignity of our older Scots and enabling them to exercise choice and control over their options for high quality care provision."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "National Care Home Contract negotiations are between local government through Cosla and providers through their representative bodies Scottish Care and CCPS, however we believe that the offer being made by Cosla is a reasonable and fair one.

"We have provided significant investment to support social care and deliver on our shared priorities, including the payment of the Living Wage to adult care workers.

"This has consisted of £250m in 2016/17, which has been baselined, and a further £100m to support the continued delivery of the Living Wage commitment and sustainability within the sector."

A Cosla spokesman said: "Local government is offering sufficient resource to deliver the living wage and a reasonable uplift thereafter for other pressures.

"This is a fair deal which allows providers to invest in their staff and the quality of their service, and to take a reasonable return out of the business."