{"id":7413,"date":"2026-09-15T14:59:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T14:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/?p=7413"},"modified":"2026-09-15T15:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:01:19","slug":"ways-care-at-home-is-paid-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/ways-care-at-home-is-paid-for\/","title":{"rendered":"The five ways care at home gets paid for (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The five ways care at home gets paid for<\/b><\/h1>

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Quick summary<\/b><\/h3>

There are five routes: Attendance Allowance, the Council Tax disregard, council funded care, NHS Continuing Healthcare, and paying privately. Most families use more than one, and most never hear about at least two of them. Only one is means-tested on savings, which is the fact that surprises people most.<\/span><\/p>

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Why most families only find one of them<\/b><\/h3>

Because the routes sit with four different organisations and none of them is responsible for telling you about the others.<\/span><\/p>

Attendance Allowance is the DWP. The Council Tax disregard is your district or borough council. Funded care is the county or unitary council. Continuing Healthcare is the NHS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Here\u2019s the summary:<\/span><\/p>

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Route<\/strong><\/p><\/th>

Means-tested?<\/strong><\/p><\/th>

Roughly what it is worth<\/strong><\/p><\/th>

Who to ask<\/strong><\/p><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>

1. Attendance Allowance<\/b><\/p><\/td>

No<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u00a376.70 or \u00a3114.60 a week<\/span><\/p><\/td>

DWP, 0800 731 0122<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

2. Council Tax disregard<\/b><\/p><\/td>

No<\/span><\/p><\/td>

25 per cent off, or the whole bill<\/span><\/p><\/td>

Your district or borough council<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

3. Council funded care<\/b><\/p><\/td>

Yes<\/span><\/p><\/td>

Varies. Full funding below \u00a314,250 capital<\/span><\/p><\/td>

Adult social care at the county or unitary council<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

4. NHS Continuing Healthcare<\/b><\/p><\/td>

No<\/span><\/p><\/td>

The entire cost of care<\/span><\/p><\/td>

GP, hospital team, or the Integrated Care Board<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

5. Paying privately<\/b><\/p><\/td>

Not applicable<\/span><\/p><\/td>

What it costs<\/span><\/p><\/td>

Providers directly<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

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1. Attendance Allowance<\/b><\/h3>

The one to check first, because savings and income are irrelevant to it.<\/span><\/p>

It is a tax-free weekly payment for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision because of a physical or mental health condition. From April 2026 it pays <\/span>\u00a376.70 a week<\/b> if help is needed during the day or the night, and <\/span>\u00a3114.60 a week<\/b> if help is needed both day and night, or if the person is nearing the end of life (<\/span>GOV.UK<\/span><\/a>, rates from the Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027).<\/span><\/p>

Two misunderstandings stop people claiming. It is not means-tested, so savings, a private pension and a paid-off house make no difference at all. And you do not need to be receiving any help already, because the test is the help someone reasonably needs, not the help they get. Someone living alone and managing badly is exactly who it is for.<\/span><\/p>

You claim on form AA1, which you download from GOV.UK or request by phone. There is no way to submit it online, and you cannot complete it on a phone or tablet.<\/span><\/p>

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2. The Council Tax disregard<\/b><\/h3>

The one almost nobody hears about, and it can wipe out your entire council tax bill.<\/span><\/p>

Someone who is medically certified as severely mentally impaired, and who is entitled to a qualifying benefit such as Attendance Allowance, is disregarded for Council Tax. The conditions that commonly lead to it include dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and stroke.<\/span><\/p>

What it produces depends on the household. <\/span>Someone living alone who is disregarded pays no Council Tax at all.<\/b> Someone living with one other adult gets a 25 per cent discount. Living with two or more other adults who are liable, there is no discount (<\/span>GOV.UK, Council Tax discounts for disabled people<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>

Two things to know. It needs a certificate from a registered medical practitioner, usually the GP, and it is not applied automatically, so somebody has to claim it. And note the sequencing: an Attendance Allowance award is often what unlocks this, which is why the first route is worth doing first.<\/span><\/p>

This one goes to the district or borough council, which in the border towns is not the same body as the one handling care. In Buxton that means High Peak Borough Council for the Council Tax and Derbyshire County Council for the care.<\/span><\/p>

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3. Council funded care<\/b><\/h3>

The route everyone knows about, and the only one of the five that looks at savings.<\/span><\/p>

It starts with a care needs assessment, which is free and is a legal right under the Care Act 2014. That decides what help someone needs. A separate financial assessment then decides what they contribute.<\/span><\/p>

In England for 2026\/27, the upper capital limit is <\/span>\u00a323,250<\/b> and the lower limit is <\/span>\u00a314,250<\/b> (Department of Health and Social Care). Above the upper limit, someone pays the full cost. Below the lower limit, they contribute only from income. Between the two, they contribute on a sliding scale of \u00a31 a week for every \u00a3250 of capital above the lower limit.<\/span><\/p>

For care at home rather than a care home, the value of the house someone lives in is not counted.<\/span><\/p>

The order matters here. Ask for the needs assessment first and separately, because it happens before anyone looks at money, and because being told what someone is assessed as needing is useful even if they end up paying for all of it.<\/span><\/p>

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4. NHS Continuing Healthcare<\/b><\/h3>

The one worth the most and the hardest to get.<\/span><\/p>

If the main reason someone needs care is a health need rather than an age-related or social one, the NHS may fund the whole package, at home or in a care home. It is not means-tested and there is no contribution from the family.<\/span><\/p>

The process starts with a screening Checklist, and if that is passed, a full assessment scores needs across twelve care domains. The NHS says that if someone has at least one priority need, or severe needs in at least two areas, they can usually expect to be eligible. A decision should normally follow within 28 days (<\/span>NHS, NHS continuing healthcare<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>

Being honest about it: most people who apply are not found eligible, and the threshold is genuinely high. It is still worth asking for a Checklist if health needs are complex, unpredictable or intense, and the request can be made through a GP, a hospital team or the local Integrated Care Board. There is also a fast track route for people whose condition is deteriorating rapidly.<\/span><\/p>

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5. Paying privately<\/b><\/h3>

The default, and the one most families in this area end up on, at least in part.<\/span><\/p>

Above \u00a323,250 in capital, the council will not fund care, although it will still carry out a needs assessment and should still give advice. What you are then buying is priced by the hour for visits, or by the week for live-in care.<\/span><\/p>

Two things worth knowing before you start paying. Free reablement or intermediate care is normally available for up to six weeks after a hospital stay, and plenty of families begin paying on the day of discharge without ever being offered it. And Attendance Allowance and the Council Tax disregard both still apply to someone paying privately, which together can be worth several thousand pounds a year.<\/span><\/p>

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What order should I do these in?<\/b><\/h3>

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  1. Attendance Allowance first.<\/b> No means test, no waiting for anyone else, and it often unlocks route two.<\/span><\/li>
  2. Then the care needs assessment.<\/b> Free, a legal right, and it happens before the financial assessment.<\/span><\/li>
  3. Then the Council Tax disregard<\/b>, once Attendance Allowance is awarded and if the condition fits.<\/span><\/li>
  4. Ask about Continuing Healthcare<\/b> if health needs are complex, and specifically ask for a Checklist rather than asking in general terms.<\/span><\/li>
  5. Ask about reablement<\/b> if there has been a hospital stay, before agreeing to pay anyone.<\/span><\/li><\/ol>

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    Which council do I actually ring?<\/b><\/h3>

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