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If you are eligible for help from adult social care and are living at home, you may need to pay for part of all of your care.  The amount depends on your income (how much money you have coming in each week) and your assets (your savings and investments).   We will help you to calculate this by carrying out a financial assessment after we have carried out a care needs assessment.

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Our approach to charging and community-based services is described in our Charging Policy, agreed by Cabinet in July 2019.  

Our online financial assessment calculator will give you an estimate of what you might pay towards the cost of care.

What are community-based services?

Community-based services include:

• Homecare (sometimes called domiciliary care)
• A direct payment to spend on care and support (e.g. to employ a Personal Assistant)
• Day centres and services
• Supporting living placements
• Council-provided transport
• Respite care, often to give someone a break from caring.

People have a financial assessment to calculate what – if anything – they need to pay towards these services. The calculation is explained later on.

What services are free?

Some services are free for everyone who needs social care, regardless of their circumstances. These are:

• Information and advice services.
• ‘Intermediate’ care for a period of up to 6 weeks, including short-term crisis care and short-term reablement to help you regain the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks after a period of ill-health.
• Support provided directly to unpaid carers.
• Care technology, such as sensors or alarms.
• Community equipment (aids and minor adaptations in the home) costing £1,000 or less.
• Care and support provided to people with Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease
• After-care services and supported provided under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (only services specified in the care order are free).
• Any services that fall under NHS continuing healthcare.

How much will I have to pay for community-based services?

We apply a means test to make sure you only pay what you can afford for community-based services: How much you have to pay will depend on how much money you have, and we calculate this by carrying out a ‘financial assessment’ with you. When we talk to you about your needs during your assessment, we will explain more about the financial assessment process. You can also ready more about it in our charging policy. Regulations about how much we should charge are set by the government in the Care Act 2014.

The process of calculating how much you might have to pay can be broken down into four steps.

Step 1 – Calculate your income

We will look at the regular income you receive that can be taken into consideration in what you might pay.  Examples include (but are not limited to):

• State and private pensions
• Income support
• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Care Component
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Daily Living Component
• Universal Credit
• Guarantee Credit (Pension Credit).

Examples of income that is not taken into consideration in what you might pay include (but are not limited to):

• Any earnings from current employment
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Mobility Component
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mobility Component
• Regular voluntary or charitable income.
• Child Tax Credit.
• War widow’s supplementary pension.
• A partner’s disability-related benefits.
• Christmas bonus, winter fuel and cold weather payments.
• Social Fund payments.
• Maintenance payments specifically relating to a child.
• Child benefit.
• £10 a week of War Disablement Pension and/or war widows’ pension.
• Armed Forces Independence Payments.

If there is income that you should be receiving (e.g. a benefit you are entitled to) we will help you to claim this. Some useful contacts are listed in our charging policy.

Step 2 – Assessing your capital and assets

We will look at the capital and assets that can be taken into consideration in what you might pay.  The value of your home is not taken into consideration in what you might pay.

Examples of what is taken into consideration include (but are not limited to):

• Savings accounts, investments, stocks, shares, unit trust, TESSAs, PEPs, ISAs, premium bonds etc.
• Any property or land you own that is not your main house.
• Any capital held on your behalf by another party, Court of Protection, spouse or partner.
• Any element of a compensation payment awarded specifically for the costs of providing on-going care.

If you have savings or investments that are over £23,250 you will have to pay the full cost of your care.

If you have savings or investments between £14,250 and £23,250, we will add £1 for every £250 to you weekly income to work out how much you will pay.

If you have savings or investments below £14,250, this amount will be ignored and will not be use to work out how much you will pay.

Step 3 – reviewing what you spend on household-related costs

We may ignore the money you spend on household-related costs when working out how much you might pay. Depending on individual circumstances, this can include:

• The amount you pay towards your rent or mortgage after any eligible Housing Benefit or assistance has been awarded.
• The amount you pay towards your Council Tax after any eligible tax support has been awarded.
• Building insurance.
• The amount you pay towards you essential service charges after any eligible assistance has been awarded.

Step 4 – making sure you are left with money for yourself

Everyone must be left with a weekly amount not less than the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) to cover daily living expenses, such as food, toiletries and utility bills. The amounts are set by the government and vary with age and circumstances.  For example: If you are single and have reached State Pension age, the amount is £214.35 per week (as of autumn 2023). Find out more on the Gov.uk Social care charging for local authorities page.

Everyone who gets a disability-related benefit must be left with money to pay for things related to your disability (for example, extra heating costs or additional bedding). This is called ‘disability related expenditure’. We automatically leave people who get certain disability benefits with an amount of money to spend on this and consider more than these amounts on a case-by-case basis. The amount of money we automatically leave people with to spend on disability-related expenditure is:

• £5 per week for people who get the lowest rate of disability living allowance.
• £15 per week for people who get the middle rate of disability living allowance, personal independence payment or the lowest rate of attendance allowance.
• £25 per week for people who get the highest or enhanced rate of disability living allowance, personal independence payment or attendance allowance.

Will I have to sell my home?

No. The value of your home is not taken into consideration in what you might pay towards community-based services.

What help can I get to complete the financial assessment?

We will support you to fill in the financial assessment form so that the calculation is an accurate reflection of what you can afford to pay. If you need help or have any questions, please contact the Financial Assessment team on 020 8227 2390 or financial.assessments@lbbd.gov.uk. The team can also talk through what benefits you might be entitled to, if they think you may be eligible.

What if I go into hospital for a short time?

You will need to tell us so that we can stop your care during your time in hospital. What you pay is calculated weekly, so a hospital stay of under a week may not necessarily result in a reduced charge.

What if services are not provided as planned?

There may be a number of reasons why services are not provided as planned, such as if you have an emergency hospital admission, health appointment or holidays. Please tell us if services are not provided as planned for any reason. What you pay is calculated weekly, so services stopped for less than a week may not necessarily result in a reduced charge. Care that has been stopped for longer than a week will not be charged for.

What if I pay my own care fees?

If you’re paying the full cost of your care, you are known as a ‘self-funder’. Find out more about self-funding.

What if I don’t want a financial assessment?

If you do not want to tell us about your financial situation through a financial assessment, you do not have to do so – but we may then ask you to pay the full cost of your care.

What if I give my money or assets away?

If you give away money or assets to avoid paying care fees this is seen as ‘deprivation of assets’ and will mean that your financial assessment will still include the value of the assets that have been given away. In some circumstances, we can legally ask the person who was given the money or assets to pay some or all of your care home costs.

How do I pay my care fees?

Find out more about how to pay an invoice from the council in relation to care and support.

People who organise their own care and support with a direct payment from the council normally have their charge deducted automatically from this amount. You must then pay the charge to pay for your care.

How often is the amount reviewed?

The amount you pay is normally reviewed each April, in line with any changes to things like benefits and pensions. Please contact the Financial Assessment team on 020 8227 2390 or financial.assessments@lbbd.gov.uk if your circumstances change in a way that might impact how much you pay, including any changes to disability-related expenditure.

What if I don’t agree with what I am being charged?

If you are concerned that your assessed contribution has not been calculated correctly, you can appeal against the calculation decision by contacting the Financial Assessment team on 020 8227 2390 or financial.assessments@lbbd.gov.uk.  A review and response will be sent to you within 20 working days.

Where can I get advice or help to manage my finances?

Find out more about independent financial advice.  If you want someone else or the council to manage your finances, you can look into Power of Attorney or deputyship. Appointeeship and deputyship can also be looked at if someone lacks capacity to complete the financial assessment process.  Find out more about managing someone else's affairs.

If payments are not received on time, further action may be taken.  More information is on our Paying your adult social care invoice page. If you are having trouble paying your contribution or managing your debt, there is advice and information out there that may help. In the first instance give please contact the Financial Assessment Team on 020 8227 2390 or email financial.assessments@lbbd.gov.uk – do not ignore the invoices and letters. If you let us know that you are having difficulty, we can help you to sort out the problem.

If you have a question about how your charge has been calculated, please contact the Financial Assessment Team on 020 8227 2390 or financial.assessments@lbbd.gov.uk. 

If you have received an invoice with incorrect dates or services, or if you have had a change in circumstances that might affect how much you have to pay, please contact the Intake Team on 020 8227 2915 or intaketeam@lbbd.gov.uk

Other useful websites:

Long-term care – Money Helper

Paying for care – Age UK

Paying for dementia care in England – Alzheimer’s Society

Disability-related expenditure – Carers UK