Council run care homes vs private

I think the assumption of a “council home” is a little wrong anyway. As far as I am aware there are no Council run homes for the elderly anymore. There are just cheap homes and expensive homes. All are run privately but if you receive council funding you will not be able to reach the amount it costs for the private homes.
Cheap homes will have a mixture of people paying private from house sales etc and people being funded. Private homes will exclusively have people paying privately.

A private home may also be free if she gets full chc funding. IME council run homes are very good, I have seen private carehomes just in it for the money, some of them offer meals that none of the residents would be able to eat. All the homes I have visited or worked in have a mixture of council and self funded residents. The care and facilities are exactly the same. What does she plan to do if she doesnt qualify for chc funding. Does she have any complex needs. She will have a financial assessment at some point.

There are hardly any council run homes these days. Some local authorities have hung onto them but they are few and far between. What area of the country are you looking in?

And if you do find one run by an individual I’d be asking how often they visit the premises etc. There’s a big difference between an owner with several homes, lives miles away and never visits compared to an owner that still has some hands on involvement in the business l.
Unfortunately these homes are hard to find now as the are gradually replaced with the super homes. But there still are some around.

I'm no expert but I've worked in council and private care homes. The care in council homes was the best. More staff, the management were 'hands on' and more ethical re residents and staff well being, and just generally a more pleasant atmosphere.

If you can try and find one run by an individual over a huge company- all day long.

Im a DN go into lots of care homes . Interestingly the most expensive one ( think dinner served silver service every night and hallway full of antiques ) I wouldn't let my worst enemy live in there ... the care is awful underneath the pretty exterior it's a shambles . The much cheaper slightly run down shabby chic one close by is fantastic , carers are wonderful !
Don't always judge a book by it's cover on care homes .

One tip I will give you is do not be fooled by the new built, clean looking super homes. The newness and over all better maintained interior will give you a false view of what’s the better home.
In my experience, the bigger the home, your relative will be no more than a name on a bit of paper. The smaller homes with 10-30 people in seem to always give a much superior care package.

Not a great deal of difference at all. At the retirement home level of care, maybe a bit different but once they reach nursing care, pretty much zero difference. (Worked agency for years, have worked in at least 50 homes)