The role of two brothers in a plan to increase care home fees has embroiled the umbrella organisation for Scotland's councils in a conflict of interest row.
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), whose chief executive is Rory Mair, will today consider a rise in public subsidy for care providers.
But the proposal for a 2.8% "inflationary uplift" was drawn up by Ranald Mair, negotiator for private sector body Scottish Care and brother of the Cosla chief.
Cosla's political leaders will meet this morning to consider their offer of funding for Scotland's care homes. However, The Herald understands there is disquiet over a perceived conflict of interest between Cosla and Scottish Care.
While Rory Mair, 52, is not part of the local authority negotiating team on care fees, the Cosla chief executive is part of the umbrella group's "management team" that helps determine the organisation's overall strategy.
His brother Ranald's role, as chief executive of Scottish Care, is to maximise the local authority subsidy the multi-million-pound care sector receives.
Ranald, 58, is also director of the care company and a commercial offshoot which provides services to the sector.
Scottish Care represents around 700 care homes in Scotland - services that require a large chunk of public money every year.
According to their accounts, Scottish Care made £137,283 from membership fees in 2007.
A third Mair brother, Colin, is chief executive of the publicly funded "Improvement Service", a body set up in 2005 by Cosla and the previous Scottish Executive to recommend best practice to councils. Rory also sits on the board of the organisation run by his brother.
Ranald Mair said: "Rory is not directly involved in negotiations. That we have to do business with each other's organisations is a fact of life, nothing more."
Asked what his brother's role was on the care homes issues, he said: "You can work out what the role of the chief executive of Cosla is.
"It is a very large organisation representing all the local authorities in Scotland. He would not be involved in every piece of work Cosla undertakes. The ultimate decisions about fees are taken by the elected members."
Cosla President Councillor Pat Watters said: "This is personal mischief making of the worst order.
"It is ludicrous to suggest the relationship between Rory Mair and the Chief Executive of Scottish Care has anything to do with the course of action politicians will decide to take tomorrow. Both Cosla and Scottish Care are membership organisations and to allege that they could be manipulated in such a manner is simply astonishing.
"For the record, Rory Mair has in no way been involved in the negotiating process. It has been overseen by a Team Leader and Strategic Director in COSLA ."
John Wilson, SNP MSP for Central Scotland, said: "I trust there is no conflict of interest between Rory Mair and his brother on this issue."
Talks between local authority representatives and Scottish Care have reached an impasse after three offers were rejected by the providers' group.
The council body originally offered a 2.5% increase for 2009/10 as part of the National Care Home Contract, a rise that was knocked back.
A revised proposal of 2.7% for each of the next two financial years was then offered by council chiefs, but again refused by Scottish Care.
This was on top of Cosla promising not to hit care homes with a financial penalty for failing to meet staff training targets.
A private Cosla paper to be discussed today sets out a "counter-proposal" for consid- eration by the group's leaders.
The alternative, which was put forward by Scottish Care, backs a 2.8% rise in the package to providers and is worth up to £1.3million more than the first deal offered by Cosla.
The paper notes that it would be "remiss" not to put the counter offer to Cosla leaders and warns a failure to reach agreement could "precipitate industrial action".
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