Get financial help to pay for a care or nursing home
To get financial help from the council to pay for a care home, you’ll need to:
- Have a care needs assessment first, to determine whether you qualify for a placement in a care home based on our eligibility criteria.
- If the results of your care needs assessment say you need to live in a care or nursing home, we’ll ask you to complete a financial assessment (means test).
- The financial assessment looks at your income, savings and investments to work out how much you can afford to pay towards your care home costs.
Learn more about the care needs and financial assessment process
How much financial help you can get
How much the council will contribute to the costs depends on:
- the type of care home you need to live in
- the property, income, savings and investments that you have
Who can get financial help
Most people will need to pay at least something towards their care. How we decide is based on how much you have in capital - the total value of your savings and investments.
If you have capital of:
- more than £23,250 - you will need to pay the full cost for your care (called self-funding) until your capital falls below £23,250
- between £14,250 and £23,250 - you may still qualify for help to pay, but we will include this amount in our calculations of what you should pay
- less than £14,250 - you may be eligible for help to pay for your care, and you will be left with at least this amount of savings if you have it
Our charging policy
Our charging policy explains the legal context of charging for adult social care services, and how different types of services and support are charged.
Read our Charging Policy in full for Adult Social Care (PDF, 403.5 KB)
What we consider in the financial assessment
If you’re moving into a care home, the financial assessment will look at your:
- capital, meaning all of your savings and investments
- income from any pensions and benefits (we do not consider any salary)
- the value of any property or land you own
Read a full list of what we’ll ask you about
Money to cover everyday costs
When we calculate how much you will pay towards your care, we make sure that you’re left with enough money to cover everyday expenses. This is called a personal expenses allowance.
The government sets this amount every year. From April 2025 it is set at £30.65 per week.
Get an estimate of how much you might have to pay
Use our estimators to get an idea of how much you’d have to contribute to the costs of care or nursing homes.