The average cost of moving into a care home varies greatly throughout the different regions of the UK. You will also find that they vary according to the individual needs of the person requiring care, along with the style of care home you choose and facilities it has. It can therefore be difficult to understand the costs associated with living in a residential or nursing care environment, and what those costs cover. In this article, we will explain what a care home typically covers in the weekly fee, what you can expect to pay in addition to your weekly fee and how to plan for care home cost increases.
Care Home Costs In The UK
Comparing the cost of residential and nursing homes
Whilst the average weekly fee for residential care in the UK is £976, compared to £1,196 for nursing care, it is important to note that these figures look at all care homes in the UK including those who are funded by the local authority and is not necessarily what you can expect to pay, especially if you are self-funding. The individual needs of the person requiring care very much play a part, to ensure that the level of assessed care that a person requires can be met without compromise by the care home provider.
The cost for dementia care in the UK averages £1,021 per week for residential care and £1,248 per week for nursing dementia. The cost for dementia care is typically higher because residents living with dementia can often need a higher level of support, which typically requires more staff to facilitate. Those living with dementia may also require specialist equipment, or one-to-one support, affecting costs.
The average costs shown above are based on long-term or permanent care, but respite costs can vary further still. Respite care is short term care, often used to provide support for people who are caring for a loved one at home, known as a carer break. It can also be useful for convalescence, providing care for a specific period following an operation or illness. Families with elderly loved ones may also choose respite care to give them peace of mind whilst they are away on holiday. Whatever the reason for the short-term care, most care and nursing homes will be able to offer this service but is generally based on their bed availability at the time.
In the UK, the average cost of residential respite care is £1,050 per week and people often ask why respite fees are higher than long term weekly care costs. It is important to say that not all care providers charge an uplift for the provision of respite care. However, many do, and the reason for this comes down to the commercial and operational impact respite can have on the care home providers business.
Whether someone stays at a care home on a long or short-term basis, the process is the same. Providers will still have to complete a pre-admission needs assessment, prepare a comprehensive and personalised care plan to ensure that their needs are met whilst staying in the care home, prepare a room for the resident and so on. In some cases, they may also need to provide additional staff. Charging more for respite is common in the UK care sector, with typical cost uplifts between 10 and 20% of the normal weekly fee.
Self-funding your care
As mentioned at the start of this article, those requiring care that are classed as self-funding, can expect their weekly fee to differ to those previously stated. This is because self-funding residents are not entitled to the subsidised care that can be available for those without adequate funds. Local authorities also often pay for ‘Block Contracts’ allowing them to secure a number of beds at a care home at a lower rate, which allows them to access care beds quickly. But what does self-funding mean?
In England, you are considered a self-funder if you have capital over £23,250, and until your capital falls below this threshold, you are required to pay the full costs of your care. Some self-funding residents may qualify for non-means tested financial assistance however, which we will cover later in this article.
Even if you have capital above the threshold, it is still a good idea to get a care needs assessment from the adult services team at your local authority. They will give you a written assessment of your care needs, which can help you to decide what support or what type of care home will be best for you. You can read more about finding the right care home here.
Understanding Care Home Fees
What is included in care home fees?
As a general rule, the weekly fee for most care homes will include the residents’ care package. This will be based on the pre-admission assessment that needs to be conducted before someone can move into a care or nursing home. Along with this, food and drink, housekeeping, laundry, and accommodation are usually included. And of course, care home residents do not have the worry of paying utilities as these are included within the accommodation charges within the weekly fee.
If offered at the care home, activities, outings, and special events are usually included in the weekly fee, although there may be nominal additional charges for things like entry fees to attractions for example.
If a resident has a TV in their room for personal use, and they are under 75 years of age, they still require a TV licence. However, if you live in a care or nursing home, you are entitled to a concessionary TV licence under the ARC scheme. Some care homes include this in the weekly fee, but not all, so you will need to ask this question during your discussions about moving in.
 What is not included in care home fees?
Usually, the costs that are not included in care home fees relate to goods and services that are provided by a third party. For example, a care home may provide access to a hair salon, but the services provided are by a hairdresser not associated with the care home itself. As such, you will normally pay for these directly to the person providing the services, although, most care homes will have negotiated better rates than they would charge the general public, in return for the use of the salon facilities.
Newspapers for communal use are usually readily available to the residents at a care home, however, should a daily newspaper for personal consumption be required, this will incur an additional charge.
Alongside goods and services not provided by the care home, you can expect to pay the care home for services that are provided by them upon request – this can be things like having a staff member accompany a resident to a routine medical appointment. The reason for this is because the staff scheduled to work on any given day, are calculated in accordance with the number of, and needs of the residents living in the care home. If a staff member is removed from their duties at the care home, it has an impact on the care that can be provided to the remaining residents and as such, they need to replace that staff member to allow them to attend the medical appointment.
Whilst the above is typical, increasingly there are more ‘all inclusive’ care homes popping up, whose weekly fee will include some, if not all of the things that we have mentioned here as an additional cost.
How do care home costs compare to live in care?
Moving into a care home is often far more cost-effective than arranging a domiciliary care package for someone living at home. This is because the weekly fee for someone living in a care home includes everything we have mentioned above and more. Think about the normal costs of living – like food shopping, rent or mortgage, utilities, housekeeping services and then add them on the to the cost of a live in carer which on average in the UK is £20 per hour. The costs soon stack up.
The cost of living in a care home, when broken down to an hourly rate, is much lower with the added benefit of the peace of mind of knowing that a loved one is in a safe environment, with access to trained care and nursing staff 24 hours a day. Along with this, they have a wide range of daily activities and entertainment to keep them active and socially stimulated. In terms of value for money, the latter is clearly the better option.
 Will the local authority pay for my care?
Earlier in this article we explained that in England, if you have capital and assets of over £23,250, you are considered self-funding. But what if your assets are below this threshold?
At this point, your Local Authority may assist with the cost of your care fees and will determine if, and how much you are entitled to. This is called a financial assessment or means test.
The assessment looks at things such as your income, including certain benefits, the value of your home if you own it (Although this is not always taken into account) and any other capital, such as savings and investments to work out how much you’ll have to pay towards your care.
In most cases, you will have to use all your income to help pay for your care, apart from a few exceptions, but they must leave you with a Personal Expenses Allowance of at least £25.65 per week. This amount can be higher depending on your own personal circumstances.
To make things a little more complicated, there are upper and lower capital limits in the financial assessment. As mentioned, if your income (capital and assets) exceeds the upper limit, you will need to fund the cost of your care completely. If the combined amount is less than the lower limit of £14,250 you will not need to use any capital below this amount to pay for your care. However, you probably will have to make a contribution from your income.
If you have capital between the lower and upper limits, the council will calculate a ‘tariff income’ and you will likely have to contribute towards the cost of your care from your income.
What happens if I own my own home?
Your property will be considered in the means testing process unless any of the following people also live there: –
- your spouse, civil partner, or partner
- your child who is under eighteen
- a close relative who is aged sixty or over
- a close relative who is incapacitated.
This is known as a mandatory disregard of the value of your property, meaning you have a right for the value of your property to be ignored if you meet these criteria.
What is the 12-week property disregard?
Essentially, the 12-week property disregard aims to give you or your loved one enough time to decide how your property will help fund any future care home costs.
If you have less than the upper capital limit in savings and not enough income to pay your assessed care home fees, the council will pay towards your care home fees for 12 weeks after you move into the care home permanently or until your home is sold, whichever is sooner.
During this time, you will pay the council the contribution from your income and savings that you have been assessed as having to pay. If you haven’t managed to sell your home after the initial 12 weeks, its value will then count as part of your capital.
What is a deferred payment agreement or deferred payment scheme?
Should your property take longer to sell, your local authority may loan you money to continue to pay your care home fees. This is sometimes called interim funding, or a bridging loan and you will usually have to sign a deferred payment agreement.
A deferred payment agreement, or deferred payment scheme, is a financial arrangement with your local authority. They will pay for your care, and you will need to pay them back at a later date.
Deferred payment agreements are only available for those going into long-term care and can often take up to 12 weeks to set up.
Do remember that like all loan arrangements, the money will need to be repaid (usually upon the sale of your property) and you may be charged interest.
As we said, it can become quite complicated and this is why at Gold Care Homes, we always recommend that you seek independent financial advice from a later life planning specialist who can help you navigate the different rules and guidance. We have provided some links to useful websites and helplines at the end of this article to help you further.
Is there funding available from the NHS to cover care costs?
In short, the answer to this question is yes, there is funding available from the NHS that will contribute to the cost of someone’s care fees although not in full in many cases. The funding available is not means tested like funding from the local authority but depends on the level of care someone needs.
NHS Funded nursing care (FNC)
There is a contribution available from the NHS, for anyone who receives nursing care in a registered nursing home in England. This applies whether you are self-funding or have your care fees paid by the local authority as it is non means-tested.
It is an amount that is reviewed annually and is paid directly to the nursing home providing your loved ones’ care. The current rate (2024/25 financial year) is £235.88 per week.
You may know before moving into a care home, whether you are eligible for FNC but if not, the care home provider may provide guidance or assistance in helping you to apply for an assessment from your local Integrated Care Board (ICB)
NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding
NHS continuing healthcare is a package of care provided to people aged eighteen or over who have been assessed as having a ‘primary health need’ and is arranged and funded by the NHS. It is important to remember however that whilst this is generally arranged by the NHS, you still have the right to have input into where your loved ones’ needs are met, and if the care home you prefer is not one of the options given to you by the hospital or discharge team, you should let them know so that they can talk to them about the level of funding that is available and whether they will be able accept it.
To be eligible for NHS funding support, your loved one first needs to be assessed by an Integrated Care Board (ICB) to determine whether they have a ‘primary health need.’
A ‘primary health need’ is when you require care greater than a local authority can legally provide, meaning additional care and support is needed. Typically, this is for more complex needs, such as those associated with the later stages of progressive illnesses or in palliative and end of life care packages.
Useful resources and additional information
https://societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk/
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/find-your-local-integrated-care-board/
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-continuing-healthcare-checklist
https://www.gov.uk/apply-needs-assessment-social-services
