There are two types of charge:
1. Fixed charges
These are for care alarms.
- £5.85 per week. This charge can be waived, but it depends on your financial circumstances.
2. Financially assessed charges
How much you pay towards your care is based on your income and capital. Allowable expenditure will then be deducted from this.
The amount can be between nothing and the maximum charge of £597 per week.
If information needed to do a financial assessment is not made available, you will pay up to the maximum charge.
Chargeable services
These include:
- Day Care (unless provided as part of a package of residential care).
- Personal Care.
- Outreach Support.
- Supported Living Services.
- Sitting Services.
- Extra Care Housing.
- Domestic Help.
- Meals at Home.
- Other Support from Adults, Health and Social Care (such as transport and equipment).
You will not have to pay a charge if you:
- Suffer from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).
- Get 100% Continuing Healthcare Funding.
- Get aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act.
Financial assessment
You will pay the full cost of care or the maximum charge, whichever is the lowest amount, if:
- you have savings or investments (capital) over the current national threshold of £23,250.
If your capital is below £23,250 we will need to see full details of your income and capital. This includes for example, building society passbooks, bank statements, share certificates and other income or capital documents.
The Financial Assessment also takes account of some household expenses related to property. Also, certain extra expenses you may have because you are disabled. These are called disability related expenses.
This will help us to calculate your charge and identify any other benefits that you should be claiming.
When the Financial Assessment has been completed, you will be sent a statement. This will explain how your charge has been calculated and how to pay.
If you do not disclose your financial information, you will pay whichever is the least of these:
- Cost of care.
- Maximum charge.
Disclosing financial information for a spouse or a partner that lives with you
We can also collect their information to calculate the charge in the most beneficial way.
Your spouse or partner is not obliged to disclose their information. If they choose not to, you will be assessed on your income and expenditure only.
Where a couple both receive services, only one charge will be applied to the household. This will be based on the Financial Assessment.
Can I find out how much my charge might be before I start receiving support?
Once we have details of your finances we can give you an indication of your Assessed Income. This will not take into account the cost of your care at this point. It will show us what you can afford to contribute.
How your charge is calculated
Your payment will either be your Assessed Income, Cost of Care or the Maximum Charge, whichever is the least.
The diagram below shows how each one is worked out:
- Nobody pays more than £597 per week.
- Your charge per week will be A, B or C, whichever is the least.
A - Assessed income
Your Assessed Income is the figure calculated through your Financial Assessment. This is what you have been assessed as being able to afford.
If this Assessed Income is less than or equal to the Cost of Care, this is what you will pay. (Up to the Maximum Charge of £597 per week.)
1 Income
Income from all sources will be considered in your Financial Assessment.
Income includes, but is not limited to:
- State Benefits.
- Universal Credit.
- Employment and Support Allowance.
- Job Seekers Allowance.
- Disability Benefits.
- Pension Credit.
- Occupational and Private Pensions.
- Any other income.
Income does not include:
- Earnings from employment.
- Charitable Income.
- Winter fuel and cold weather payments.
- Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay or Allowance.
- The mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.
- Tax Credit.
- Maintenance payments specifically relating to a child.
- Pension Credit - Savings Credit.
- Guaranteed Income Payments (GIPs) paid under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS).
2 Tariff income from capital
If you have capital above £14,250 but below £23,250, we will work out an amount for tariff income. This is calculated at a rate of £1 a week for every £250 (or part of £250) of your savings over £14,250.
Your home
- The value of your home will not be taken into account as capital.
- The value of any other property or land you own may be regarded as 'capital'.
Note: There are some circumstances under which certain property or land may be disregarded.
The rules around property are complex and the Charging Assessment Team will discuss this with you.
Disposal of assets
If there is evidence to suggest that you and/or your family:
- have spent, transferred or otherwise deprived yourself of the capital available in order to reduce the payment of charges;
- this will be taken seriously and we will take this capital into account as if you still own it.
3 Personal allowance
Your Personal Allowance is calculated using rates set centrally by government. This is also known as minimum income guarantee.
4 Allowable expenditure
Household expenditure related to property:
- The expenditure we will take into account is in respect of your main home only and may include:
- Council Tax (net of Council Tax Reduction).
- Rent (net of Housing Benefits and any service charges that are ruled out).
- Mortgage payments (unless paid through Income Support or Pension Credit or if you receive payments under a Mortgage Protection Scheme).
- Ground Rent/Service Charges.
- An allowance for general housing maintenance if you are an owner/occupier.
- Disability Related Expenditure:
- This will be considered where the expenditure is required to aid independent living.
- Also, where there is little or no choice but to incur the expense, directly due to their disability/illness.
B - Cost of care
This depends on the services you receive and the provider who will deliver them.
C - Maximum charge
No matter how much care you need you will not pay more than the Maximum Charge of £597 per week.
The cost of your care if you reduce your care package
For most people reducing your package will not reduce the charge you are paying. This is because your charge will be lower than the cost of your care.
Your care package is based on:
- your care needs assessment;
- and the services you need to achieve your desired outcomes.
You would need to discuss with your social care worker any reason for reducing your care package.
If your provider fails to deliver your services
Let us know so we can discuss this with the provider and review your care charges account.
Please note: You may not always see a reduction in your weekly charge, as this depends on your financial assessment. This determines your weekly charge and the level of services that you will get.
Contact us
To contact us for more information or advice, see: Help with social care costs.