Which council do you ring for care in East Cheshire?

Quick summary

It depends what you are ringing about. In Macclesfield, one council does everything. In Buxton, Council Tax goes to High Peak Borough Council but care funding goes to Derbyshire County Council. In Leek and Biddulph it is Staffordshire Moorlands and Staffordshire County. In Kidsgrove it is Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire County.

Why is this complicated at all?

Because this area straddles a boundary between two different systems of local government.

Cheshire East is a unitary authority. One council does everything: adult social care, Council Tax, bins, housing, planning. If you live in Macclesfield or Congleton, there is one number and you are done.

Derbyshire and Staffordshire are two-tier. A county council handles adult social care, education and highways. A district or borough council handles Council Tax, bins, housing and Disabled Facilities Grants. Two organisations with different sets of contact details, and it can be difficult to transfer you cleanly to the other.

Cross the boundary at Whaley Bridge or Biddulph and the number you need changes depending on the question.

The table

Which one for which question?

The split is not intuitive, so here it is by the thing you are actually trying to sort out.

• A care needs assessment, funded care, a personal budget, a direct payment, a carer’s assessment, safeguarding: the county or unitary council.
• Occupational therapy and equipment: usually the county or unitary council, though in two-tier areas the district often handles the grant that pays for building work.
• The Council Tax severe mental impairment disregard: the district or borough council, or Cheshire East if you are in Cheshire East.
• A Disabled Facilities Grant for a ramp, a level-access shower or a stairlift: the district or borough council, after an occupational therapy assessment.
• Blue Badge: the county or unitary council.
• Bins, housing, planning: the district or borough council.

The Disabled Facilities Grant is where this catches people most often. In Buxton the assessment comes from Derbyshire County Council and the grant comes from High Peak Borough Council, and a family who rings only one of them can wait weeks before finding out.

All of this is about to change

Worth knowing now, because it affects planning rather than today’s phone call.

On 16 July 2026 the government confirmed its decisions on local government reorganisation for both Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

Derbyshire will be replaced by two unitary councils. A new north Derbyshire council will cover High Peak, Derbyshire Dales, Chesterfield, Bolsover and North East Derbyshire, plus 21 parishes from Amber Valley. Derbyshire County Council and High Peak Borough Council will both cease to exist, with the new councils expected to start in April 2028 and shadow authority elections in May 2027 (High Peak Borough Council).

Staffordshire will be split in two as well. Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council will be abolished and replaced by a single North Staffordshire unitary authority, taking on responsibilities from Staffordshire County Council, which is also being abolished. Same timetable: shadow authority from May 2027, new council from spring 2028 (Staffordshire County Council).

Nothing changes today. Both sets of councils have been clear that services continue as they are and residents should carry on using the existing contacts. But if you are planning an adaptation or a funding application that will run into 2027 or 2028, it is worth knowing that the organisation you are dealing with may not exist by the end of it.

Cheshire East is unaffected. It is already a unitary council.

What if I ring the wrong one?

You will usually be told to ring the other one, and you will usually have to start again.

Two things save time. Say the town, not the county, because “near Buxton” and “Derbyshire” produce different responses. And say the specific thing you want, using its proper name: “a care needs assessment under the Care Act”, “the severe mental impairment Council Tax discount”, “a Disabled Facilities Grant”. Those phrases route you correctly in a way that “help for my mum” does not.

Does the boundary change what she is entitled to?

Some of it, yes.

The capital limits are national and identical everywhere: £23,250 upper and £14,250 lower for 2026/27. So is Attendance Allowance, and so are the Care Act eligibility criteria.

What varies is each council’s charging policy, its maximum weekly charge, the rates it pays providers, how it runs direct payments, and what free preventative services it offers. The falls prevention programmes are a good example: Stand Strong in Cheshire East on 0300 123 5026, Live Stronger for Longer through Age UK Derby and Derbyshire on 01773 766922, and Steady On Your Feet in Staffordshire. Different schemes, different eligibility, different numbers.

Frequently asked questions

Which council covers Buxton for care?

Derbyshire County Council, through Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190. High Peak Borough Council handles Council Tax, bins, housing and Disabled Facilities Grants.

Is Biddulph in Cheshire?

No. Biddulph and Biddulph Moor are in Staffordshire, under Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Staffordshire County Council, despite being closer to Congleton than to Stafford.

Which council covers Kidsgrove?

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council for Council Tax and district services, Staffordshire County Council for care. Kidsgrove is not in Staffordshire Moorlands, which surprises people.

My mum lives in Buxton but I live in Macclesfield. Which council?

Hers, not yours. Care and support follow where the person lives, so it is Derbyshire. A carer’s assessment for you would be a matter for Cheshire East.

She is moving from Buxton to Macclesfield. Does her care package move with her?

There is a continuity duty, so the new council must meet the needs identified by the old one until it has carried out its own assessment. Tell both councils in advance rather than after the move.

Will the 2028 changes affect care she is already receiving?

Both areas have said services continue and residents should keep using existing contacts. Statutory duties sit with whichever council holds them at the time, so the responsibility transfers rather than disappearing.

About Visiting Angels Cheshire East

Visiting Angels Cheshire East provides care at home across all three of these county areas: Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Congleton and Alsager in Cheshire East; Buxton, Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith in the High Peak; and Leek, Biddulph and Kidsgrove in Staffordshire.

• You choose your caregiver. You meet them before care starts, and if it is not right you say so and we send someone else.
• No visit is ever shorter than an hour. There is no such thing as a fifteen minute call here.
• 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).
• Carers trained in dementia, Parkinson’s, stroke recovery and complex care.
• Live-in care available, up to full time.

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, which is usually what a visit should be built around.
• Talk through a realistic package, and what it would cost.
• Look at the money with you, and point you towards the funding, benefits and grants you may be entitled to, including which council to ring for each of them.
• Tell you honestly if you do not need us yet, or if someone else is a better fit.

If you are not sure who you are supposed to be ringing, call us on 01625 720157 and we will point you at the right one. You can also send an enquiry, or check the areas we cover.

Authored by Dr Niall Jawad, Director, Visiting Angels Cheshire East.

Published 6 September 2026. Last updated 6 September 2026.

This article is general information about local government responsibilities, not legal or financial advice. Council structures, contact details and charging policies change, and local government reorganisation is under way in both Derbyshire and Staffordshire; the position here was correct at the date of publication and should be checked with the relevant council. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GB Care at Home Ltd accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this article.