Paying for your care at home

Social care and support, unlike health care provided by the NHS, is not usually free of charge.

If you have been assessed by the council as needing ongoing care and support, you will be offered a financial assessment to work out how much you may need to pay towards the care you receive, and to provide advice about welfare benefits. No-one is asked to pay more towards their care than they can afford.

A charge may be made for the following types of support:

home care and general care and support
day opportunities and day activities
direct payments
meals
respite care

No charge is made for the first six weeks of reablement care that helps you regain your independence, or intermediate care to support you following a hospital discharge.

We understand that due to the current cost of living crisis things may be very difficult at the moment and nobody should consider having to cancel their care because they cannot afford it.

If you are considering doing this, please contact the council’s Financial Assessment Team for a discussion to see if they can help in any way.

Tel: 01733 454446

email faoteam@peterborough.gov.uk

The team can look at ways to help you to afford your care. They can check that you are claiming all relevant disability related expenditure and that you are receiving all the benefits that you are entitled to.

Assessing your finances

Charges for social care support must be fair, and take account of people’s individual circumstances. The financial assessment will look at your:

income and expenditure, including any additional expenditure that you might have because of a disability
savings or capital.

This information is then used to work out:

how much the cost for your care is likely to be
how much the council may contribute towards the cost of your care

We can also check to ensure you are receiving all benefits you are entitled to and can assist you in claiming for them.

If you choose not to have a financial assessment, we will assume that you are able to pay for the full cost of your care, and will charge you on that basis.

If you dispose of any capital or savings to avoid or reduce the amount you pay towards your care, we may investigate the circumstances and decide to still take these assets into account in the financial assessment.

Standard charges

Our standard care charges are detailed below:

meals - £5.20 hot meal / £2.60 frozen meal
respite - capital over £23,250 - full cost

Charges for other care services, such as homecare, day activities or respite care, are based on your own financial circumstances.

If your financial assessment shows that you are able to contribute towards the cost of your care, the charge for this will be based on what you can afford.

The highest charge that you could pay, if your financial circumstances permit this, is the actual full cost to the council of the care you receive.

Making major adaptations

If you have a disability and require equipment and adaptations to your home to help you manage around your home, the costs differ depending on your circumstances:

if you live in a home provided by a social housing landlord, major adaptations to your home to help you manage a disability are usually provided free of charge
If you live in your own home or in a privately rented property, we can help you apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant of up to £30,000. If the cost of adaptions are over this amount, you will be required pay the remainder as well as your assessed contribution. Find out more about Disabled Facilities Grants on the Care and Repair webpage.
Occupational therapists can help you with these applications.

Assistive Technology and Technology Enabled Care is usually free of charge, if you have had an assessment that confirms you are eligible for this type of support.

What is respite care?

Respite care is a short stay in a residential or nursing care home, usually to provide a break for an unpaid carer.

if you are eligible for help with care costs, respite care can be arranged by us, or by yourself if you choose to have a direct payment
if you are not eligible for help with care costs, we can still help you to arrange respite care, but you will pay the full cost of this.

Cost of respite care

If the level of capital you have is more than £23,250, you will pay the full cost of the respite care stay
if you have less than £23,250, you will pay what you can afford to pay depending on your financial circumstances

If you stay in a care home on a temporary or trial-basis, the amount that you will need to pay for this will take into account your financial circumstances that would apply when you are living in your normal home.

If you have very severe and complex health needs, you may qualify for NHS continuing healthcare. This is an ongoing package of care that's fully funded by the NHS.

Health needs could be physical and / or mental that have arisen because of disability, accident or illness, and can be provided in any setting, including your own home, a care home or hospice.