Quick summary
The Homecare Association says an hour of home care needs to cost £34.42 in 2026/27 to be delivered sustainably. The average council pays £24.39. That gap of about £10 an hour explains fifteen minute visits, unpaid travel time and why families see a different carer most weeks.
The two numbers
Figure | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
Minimum price to deliver an hour of home care sustainably in England | £34.42 | Homecare Association, 2026/27 |
Average hourly rate councils pay providers | £24.39 | Homecare Association, 2026 |
Gap | About £10 an hour |
The £34.42 is the calculated cost of paying the National Living Wage, plus travel time between visits, training, holiday pay, sick cover, mileage, supervision and the cost of running a compliant service.
Where an hour of home care actually goes
Families are often surprised that the carer does not receive most of what is paid. Here is what that is made up of:
- The carer’s wage for the hour in the house. From April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over. The median care worker in England’s independent sector was on £12.60 an hour in December 2025 (Skills for Care).
- Paid travel time between visits. This counts as working time for minimum wage purposes, and it is genuine paid time that generates no invoice.
- Mileage. We pay 35p a mile.
- Employer’s National Insurance and pension contributions.
- Holiday pay, 5.6 weeks statutory, and sick pay.
- Training and competence checks, including the Care Certificate and annual medicines competency reviews.
- Cover, so that somebody comes when your regular carer has flu.
- Office, rota, on-call, insurance and regulatory costs.
Squeeze £10 an hour out of that list and only a few things can give. In practice they are the same three every time: visit length, travel time and pay.
What the gap produces
Fifteen minute visits. NICE recommends home care visits of at least 30 minutes, with shorter calls only for specific agreed tasks (NICE QS123). Short calls persist because they are what the funding buys, not because anyone thinks they are adequate. Our piece on 15-minute visits works through what does and does not fit.
Unpaid travel. If a carer drives ninety minutes across a day and is paid only for contact time, their real hourly earnings fall well below the advertised rate.
Staff turnover. Domiciliary care turnover ran at 23.7 per cent in 2025 with a 9.7 per cent vacancy rate in October 2025 (Skills for Care). That is the mechanism behind the complaint families make most often, which is that they never see the same person twice.
Providers handing back contracts. When the commissioned rate falls too far below cost, providers stop bidding, which reduces choice in exactly the rural areas that are most expensive to serve.
What this looks like locally
Cheshire East crosses three councils, and each sets its own rates and charges.
Council | What is published |
|---|---|
Staffordshire County Council | Charges people for non-residential care at £21.80 an hour, with a published table of weekly charges by care hours (Staffordshire County Council) |
Derbyshire County Council | Operates a community contribution policy with a financial self-assessment, protecting income at the Minimum Income Guarantee level |
Cheshire East Council | Publishes a cost of care exercise and market sustainability plan, and a personal assistant rate of £16.21 an hour from April 2025 for people employing their own staff through a direct payment |
Note the distinction that trips people up: what a council charges the person is not the same as what it pays the provider. The charge depends on a financial assessment. The provider rate is a commissioning decision.
For local rates, ask the relevant council directly, or see which council covers your town.
Why rural areas cost more to serve
Rates are usually set as a flat hourly figure across a whole council area, and the cost of delivery is not flat at all.
A round in the middle of Macclesfield fits more visits into a day than a round covering Chelford, Mobberley and Goostrey, where fifteen minutes of driving sits between clients. The moorland villages at Wincle, Wildboarclough, Meerbrook, Hollinsclough and Longnor are further again, and winter makes them slower still.
The predictable result is that the villages are hardest to get care in, and that has nothing to do with how much anyone wants to serve them.
What this means if you are paying privately
Use £34.42 as a reference point rather than as a price to beat.
A provider charging meaningfully below the sustainable minimum is covering the difference somewhere. It’s worth asking directly: what do you pay your carers, is travel time paid, what is your shortest visit, and what is your turnover. Our care plan guide and the twenty questions list cover the rest.
Our rate is £36 an hour, which is above the £34.42 figure. That is the reason we can pay travel time and hold an hour as the minimum visit, and it is also why we are not the cheapest option locally.
If the council is funding your care
- You may be offered a provider from the council’s contracted list, at the council’s rate.
- A direct payment lets you choose a different provider and top up the difference privately, which is the usual route if you want a provider charging above the commissioned rate.
- Ask for a review if the package is not meeting assessed needs. Visit length is part of meeting the need.
- The financial assessment decides your contribution, and the house is not counted for care at home.
Frequently asked questions
How much do councils pay for home care?
An average of £24.39 an hour in England in 2026, against a sustainable minimum price of £34.42 calculated by the Homecare Association. Rates vary between councils.
Why does council-funded care feel rushed?
Because rounds are built to a rate around £10 an hour below the cost of delivering care properly. It is rarely the individual carer, who is often doing unpaid work to make the round function.
Can I top up a council package?
Through a direct payment, generally yes. Ask your social care worker how top-ups work in your area before committing.
Is a cheaper provider always worse?
No, and a rate well below the sustainable minimum should prompt questions about pay, travel time and visit length rather than being taken as a bargain.
Why won’t anyone take on care in our village?
Usually travel. Flat hourly rates do not reflect the extra driving, so rural rounds are harder to staff sustainably.
Where do these figures come from?
The Homecare Association publishes an annual minimum price for homecare and analyses what councils actually pay. Skills for Care publishes the workforce pay and turnover data.
About Visiting Angels Cheshire East
Visiting Angels Cheshire East provides care at home across Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Congleton, Alsager and the surrounding villages of East Cheshire, along with Buxton, Whaley Bridge and the Staffordshire Moorlands towns.
- Our rate is £36 an hour, above the £34.42 sustainable minimum, with a one hour minimum visit.
- Carers are paid £15.70 an hour after probation, plus 35p a mile, with travel time paid.
- You see the same faces. Our carer turnover is 12 per cent, against a sector figure of 23.7 per cent (Skills for Care, 2025).
- You choose your caregiver, and meet them before care starts.
- We cover the villages, which is a deliberate decision rather than an accident of the rota.
Jude’s mother Joyce is 100 and lives by herself:
“Joyce lives by herself and we needed a care provider that could give us the same carer most visits. Visiting Angels have been able to accommodate this, which is very helpful. They know her routine and have built up a rapport with my Mum. Understanding the details of her routine is an important part of her care and wellbeing. I trust them with keys, security and being with Mum to, cook, sit and talk and give tablets etc etc..”
Jude Burton, Google review
Not sure what you need yet? Start with a free assessment
Our free home care assessment is a visit at a time that suits you, with no obligation afterwards. In it we will:
- Work out what is actually difficult, and which times of day.
- Put the cost in writing, so you can compare it against other quotes properly.
- Look at the money with you, and point you towards the funding, benefits and grants you may be entitled to.
- Tell you honestly if a council package would meet the need, because for plenty of people it does.
If you are comparing what you are being charged against what you are getting, call us on 01625 720157. You can also send an enquiry, and you can read more about how we work.
Authored by Dr Haroon Ahmad, Managing Director, Visiting Angels Cheshire East.
Published 27 September 2026. Last updated 27 September 2026.
This article is general information about how home care is funded and priced, not financial advice. We are a care provider and have an interest in this argument; please weigh it alongside the Homecare Association, Skills for Care and your local council’s published policies. Council rates and charges change, usually each April, and figures were correct at the date of publication. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GB Care at Home Ltd accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this article.
