Adult social care fees and charges
Please note: Adult Social Care is a service that some people will need to pay for. How much you need to pay will depend on how much Staffordshire Council works out what you can afford. We will look at this as part of a financial assessment.
This page has information on the following:
Capital limits for care Back to top
The annual Department of Health social care - charging for care and support circular sets out each year’s capital limit.
This is the limit of:
- other assets that a person has
Above this they will be required to pay the full cost of their care (for example, they are a self-funder).
Current limit
The national limit for residential care is currently £23,250. From 1 April 2019, this limit has also been adopted by us for non-residential care services.
There are also lower limits set. If the person has:
Capital below £14,250
This capital is fully disregarded.
Capital between £14,250 and £23,250
A tariff income charge is set of £1 per week for every £250 (or part of £250) above the £14,250 limit.
Please note
The capital limits above apply to adult social care only.
Different values for capital limits and tariff income are used by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for certain means tested benefits such as:
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
The personal expenses allowance (PEA) Back to top
The annual 'social care - charging for care and support' circular also sets out the value of this allowance each year.
It ensures that people in council-funded residential care are left with a minimum amount of income left after their care charges to spend as they wish on personal expenses.
The basic rate is currently £30.15 per week.
The minimum income guarantee (MIG) Back to top
The annual 'social care - charging for care and support' circular also sets out the value of this allowance each year.
It ensures that any person who receives council-funded care in a non-residential setting has enough money left after their care charges to meet basic needs and to cover everyday living costs:
- DP = Disability Premium
- CP = Carers Premium
- DP = Enhanced Disability Premium
Single adults
| Allowance | 18 – 24 | 25 – Pension Age | Pension Age | Lone Parent |
|---|
|
Not entitled to any premium
|
£87.65
|
£110.60
|
£228.70
|
£110.60
|
|
Entitled to CP
|
£140.00
|
£162.95
|
£281.05
|
£162.95
|
|
Entitled to DP
|
£136.45
|
£159.40
|
N/A
|
£159.40
|
|
Entitled to DP + CP
|
£188.80
|
£211.75
|
N/A
|
£211.75
|
|
Entitled to DP + EDP
|
£160.30
|
£183.25
|
N/A
|
£183.25
|
|
Entitled to DP + EDP + CP
|
£212.68
|
£235.60
|
N/A
|
£235.60
|
Couples
| Allowance | Under Pension Age | Pension Age |
|---|
|
Not entitled to any premium
|
£86.85
|
£174.60
|
|
Entitled to CP
|
£139.20
|
£226.95
|
|
Entitled to DP
|
£121.65
|
N/A
|
|
Entitled to DP + CP
|
£174.00
|
N/A
|
|
Entitled to DP + EDP
|
£138.80
|
N/A
|
|
Entitled to DP + EDP + CP
|
£191.15
|
N/A
|
Children
For each child the adult is responsible for that is a member of the same household, there is an additional allowance of £101.25.
The savings credit disregard Back to top
The annual 'social care - charging for care and support' circular also sets out the value of this allowance each year.
It is given to people who qualify for council-funded care and who receive state savings credit. The allowance allows such people to be left with additional income over and above the PEA or the MIG after paying their care charges.
The allowance is currently up to:
- £6.95 per week for individual supported residents
- £10.40 per week for couples
Disposable income allowance for deferred payment agreements Back to top
The Care Act 2014 states that councils must allow a client to keep a minimum amount of income each week if they enter into a deferred payment agreement with the council.
This disposable income allowance is intended to allow enough money to pay for any additional costs the client might have to continue paying for their home.
The allowance is currently £144 per week.
Please note
Clients may opt to keep less than this sum if they wish.
State age and disability benefits Back to top
Rates payable from 1 April 2024 are available on the DWP website.
Guideline charges for services in Staffordshire Back to top
These are set out below to allow clients, relatives and social care practitioners to identify the relative costs of different care service types when planning care services.
These costs are required by law to be no more than the actual cost of the service to us, not a maximum or average:
- these rates are generally revised each April and are the rates that are paid to providers or are included in a direct payment for each type of service
- these are also the rates that will be charged to clients who are assessed as liable to pay the full cost of their service, (unless there are multiple provider rates for a type of service, in which case we use the lowest rate to recharge clients)
- many clients will pay less than this (some nothing at all) because their assessed financial contribution is less
- the rate for some services, such as residential or nursing care, varies significantly between different providers, so cannot be listed here. The charge to clients for such services will be notified individually
- Please see the table below for information the published contract reference rates for residential and nursing care. These rates do not constitute a fixed band which the Council will fund but act as a guide. The price that is actually charged for a care home placement can vary significantly between different providers, so the costs could be different. The actual cost of the placement is given to the Council by the provider at the point the placement is made. The charge to clients for such services will be notified individually.
| DPS Reference Rates Type of Care | Lower Rate Per Week 2024/2025 | Higher Rate Per Week 2024/2025 |
|---|
|
Residential care for older people
|
£587
|
£689
|
|
Residential care for older people with dementia
|
£592
|
£857
|
|
Residential Care for physical disabilities
|
£652
|
£1,406
|
|
Residential Care for Learning Disabilities/autistic spectrum disorders
|
£1,145
|
£1,494
|
|
Residential Care for people with mental health problems
|
£629
|
£1,076
|
|
Nursing care for older people
|
£615
|
£701
|
|
Nursing care for older people with dementia
|
£615
|
£776
|
|
Nursing care for physical disabilities
|
£663
|
£1,179
|
|
Nursing care for learning disabilities/autistic spectrum disorders
|
£963
|
£1,846
|
|
Nursing care for people with mental health problems
|
£701
|
£1,174
|
Examples of what a service might cost us and how much the client would contribute
Mrs X is assessed as able to pay (based on her income) a 'maximum charge' of £250 per week.
- If she is allocated 10 hours of home care per week to meet her care needs, this will cost the council £233.20 per week (10 hours at £23.32). Mrs X’s financial contribution will be for the full cost of her service, i.e. £233.20 per week.
- If she is allocated 15 hours of home care per week to meet her care needs, this will cost us £349.80.00 per week (15 hours at £23.32), then her financial contribution will be capped at her maximum, i.e. £250 per week, and we will fund the remaining £99.80per week.
Mr Y is assessed as able to pay (based on his income) a 'maximum charge' of £75 per week
- If he is allocated a direct payment of £30 per week, his financial contribution will be for the full cost of the direct payment.
- If his direct payment is then increased to £150 per week, his financial contribution will be capped at his maximum, i.e. £75 per week, and we will fund the remaining £75 per week.
Ms Z is assessed as not liable to pay any contribution based on her income
- Whatever service is allocated to Ms Z, she will not be asked to pay any contribution unless her financial circumstances change.
Reablement
Reablement care provided by LIS Home First or Nexxus
- Free service with no contributions for up to 6 weeks
After first 6 weeks
- If the client choses to remain with these services, they would be liable for charging based on the actual cost;
- Guideline charge: £41.00 an hour
Shared lives (adult placement) scheme
Long Stay Placement Fee and Support Carers Placement Fee
- Low Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £298.84 per week
- Medium Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £350.07 per week
- High Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £401.30 per week
Short Breaks Placement Fee
- Low Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £401.30 per week
- Medium Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £452.52 per week
- High Band (based on assessed needs) and Home from Hospital (all needs)
- Guideline charge: £503.76 per week
Day/Evening Opportunities Session Fee
- Low Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £42.68 for 4-hour sessions / £76.85 for 8-hour sessions
- Medium Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £51.23 for 4-hour sessions / £93.91 for 8-hour sessions
- High Band (based on assessed needs)
- Guideline charge: £59.77 for 4-hour sessions / £111.00 for 8-hour sessions
Housing with care
Flexible care and support provided through specialist housing schemes (including individual support fund)
- Extra care: £20.32 per hour
- Supported and assisted living (learning disabilities / mental health):
- Hourly reference rates: between £18.24 and £19.66
- Sleep in rates: between £101.10 and £112.78 per night
- Individual support fund supported living (only for learning disabilities):
- Hourly reference rates: between £18.24 and £19.66
- Sleep in rates: between £101.10 and £112.78 per night
Residential care
- Long-term placement / short-term / replacement care (Learning Disability / Mental Health)
- Guideline charge: Individual rate depending on provider
- Long-term placement (Older People / Physical Disability)
- Guideline charge: Individual rate depending on provider
- Short-Term/replacement care (Older People / Physical Disability set price)
- Guideline Charge: The charge for replacement care will be the actual cost paid by SCC for the respite episode.
Nursing care
- Long-term placement / short-term / replacement care (Learning Disability / Mental Health)
- Guideline charge: Individual rate depending on provider
- Long-term placement (Older People / Physical Disability)
- Guideline charge: Individual rate depending on provider
- Short-Term/replacement care (Older People / Physical Disability set price)
- Guideline Charge: The charge for replacement care will be the actual cost paid by SCC for the respite episode.
Day services
Adult learning disability care provided at day centres and by day services
- Low / enablement: £57.52 per day / £28.76 per half day
- Medium / maintenance: £78.34 per day / £39.17 per half day
- High / complex: £127.90 per day / £63.95 per half day
Older people day services
Daily session - a session is a day with no fixed start or end time: £60.99
Transport (assessed needs)
- Day opportunities (mental health, day services, learning disability):
- Standard: £7.31 per return journey per day
- Enhanced: £12.19 per return journey per day
- Day opportunities (Older People and Physical Disabilities):
- Standard: £7.32 per return journey per day
- Enhanced: £12.20 per return journey per day
Home care and personal assistants (PA's)
- Domiciliary/home care agency allowance
- Domiciliary/home care rural enhanced rates
- Additional hourly rate - applicable for zones 4, 5, and 7. For further information see Enhanced Rates and Postcodes
- Up to £24.03 per hour
Home and Prison care (Commissioned and provided by Practice plus group for prisons)
- General rate; clients with some providers may pay slightly less than this rate
- Guideline charge: £21.66 per hour
Home Based Replacement Care
General rate: clients with some providers may pay slightly less than this rate.
Guideline charge: flat rate of £21.78 across the whole of Staffordshire
Allowance for home care in a Direct Payment
See Direct Payment Section Below
Communicator Guide charges
- Specialist personal assistants
- Guideline charge based on tier rates. Definitions of tier rates can be found in Communicator Guide Practice Guidance:
Tier 1 - Standard rate: £24.72 per hour
Tier 2 - Medium rate: £27.98 per hour
Tier 3 - Enhanced rate: £32.64 per hour
Direct payment standards rates 2020 (From 7 April 2024)
| Job role / details | Payment standards rate |
|---|
|
Personal assistant
Rate per hour, this includes:
- Costs for payroll
- Employers' National Insurance
- Annual leave for PA
- Redundancy
- 2 Weeks statutory sick pay
- Employer's liability insurance (first year is usually paid, but allowances should be made to budget for this year on year)
- PA wage
- Gloves or aprons if required
- Pension
Also see direct payment support provider rates below.
|
Up to £15.31 per hour
|
|
Domiciliary care agency allowance
|
Up to £23.32 per hour
|
|
Domiciliary care rural enhanced rates
Additional hourly rate - Applicable for zones 4, 5 and 7
For further information see - enhanced rates and postcodes
|
Up to £24.02 per hour
|
|
One to one support
|
Up to £18.66 per hour
|
|
Day opportunities
|
See sections above
|
|
Communicator guides
Tier 1 - Standard rate: £24.72 per hour
Tier 2 - Medium rate: £27.98 per hour
Tier 3 - Enhanced rate: £32.64 per hour
|
£24.72 per hour
|
|
Mileage rate
|
45p per mile
|
|
Respite rate
|
See sections above
|
Direct payment support provider rates
| Details | Payment support rates |
|---|
|
Employer liability insurance (maximum) per year
Initial payment can be set up as a one-off payment and renewals to be met from £13.13.
Where the carer and personal assistant insurance is more than £90.00 the excess will have to be paid by the direct payment recipient. After the first year, the ongoing cost of carer and personal assistant insurance will be paid by the direct payment recipient from their direct payment. carer and personal assistant insurance will generally provide:
- Up to £5million public liability cover, including:
- Protection against errors and omissions in the provision of medical treatment
- Accidental damage to property
- Accidental bodily injury to any person
- Legal costs and expenses incurred in defending prosecution under food, health and safety acts
- Up to £10,000 personal accident cover, with hospital allowance
- Indemnity to principal – this helps by ensuring that a service user, local authority, service support group, agency or other individual / organisation through which a personal assistant is contracted is also protected.
|
Up to £90.00 a year
|
|
Advice and guidance for personal assistant
Suitable for people who are changing from one direct payment support service to another or if the citizen has already identified the personal assistant they wish to recruit.
Could Include:
- Initial home visit (check with provider that this is included).
- Provide information concerning rules and guidelines surrounding the use of direct payments funding for employment of a personal assistant
- Training, support and information to ensure citizen has confidence in managing direct payments and financial monitoring requirements
- DBS advice and application form(additional DBS check fees apply)
- Carer and personal assistant Insurance advice and application form (additional care and personal assistant insurance fees apply)
- Provision of sample employment contract, and assistance to complete
- Support to establish payroll requirements
- Support to establish a costing for care package within funding available (including establishing appropriate hourly rates for staff)
- Advice on how to be a good employer, including advice on probationary periods, supervision, discipline, grievance and termination of contracts
|
£150.00
|
|
Specialist recruitment fee (on request)
Could Include:
- Everything listed at £150 fee
- Basic recruitment advice and information
- Support to source and recruit personal assistants (one recruitment event, for as many personal assistants needed)
- Assistance to develop job descriptions and personal specifications, personalised to individual needs
- Advice and information on the taking up of applicant references
- Support with offer letters to successful candidates
|
Up to £250
|
|
Recruitment not linked to initial package set up
For example, if the personal assistant leaves. this is only to fund an interview panel, or the cost of advertising if they have problems with recruitment.
Support to source and recruit personal assistants (one recruitment event, for as many personal assistants needed)
- Assistance to develop job descriptions and personal specifications, personalised to individual needs
- Provision of sample employment contract, and assistance to complete
- DBS advice and application form (additional DBS check fees apply)
- Advice and information on the taking up of applicant
- References
- Support with offer letters to successful candidates
- Carer and Personal Assistant Insurance advice and application form (additional Care and Personal Assistant Insurance fees apply)
- Support to establish payroll requirements
- Support to establish a costing for care package within funding available (including establishing appropriate hourly rates for staff)
- Advice on how to be a good employer, including advice on probationary periods, supervision, discipline, grievance and termination of contracts
|
Up to £150
|
|
DBS (on request)
|
£63.20
|
|
Payroll
Four-weekly payroll runs Includes auto-enrolment of staff - this is funded from the PA rate.
|
Up to £10.00 per 4 weeks
+ £1 per week for each additional employee
|
|
Additional support for any of the above services
|
Up to £17.00 per hour
|
|
Managed account fee
This is where the direct payment support provider is managing the direct payment.
This is for money management only and does not include ongoing support, which may also be required subject to assessment of need
- Receive invoices for payment
- Check income and expenditure
- Produce monthly accounts for citizens when requested to do so
- Complete quarterly returns
- Liaise with citizen to set up payments of personal contribution
- Pay personal assistants
|
Up to £3.15 per week
|
|
DBS (on request)
|
£63.20
|
|
Additional support for any of the above services
|
Up to £17.00 per hour
|
|
Managed account fee - weekly cost
This is where the direct payment support provider is managing the direct payment. This is for money management only and does not include ongoing support, which may also be required subject to assessment of need.
- Receive invoices for payment
- Check income and expenditure
- Produce monthly accounts for citizens when requested to do so
- Complete quarterly returns
- Liaise with citizen to set up payments of personal contribution
- Pay personal assistants
|
Up to £3.15 per week
|
Department of Health
Copies of the relevant statutory documents are available on the Department of Health and Social Care website.
Alternatively, you can call them:
Deputyship Management Fees
Fees that can be charged by Local Authority from 1 April 2017 for clients where local authority have been appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection fees set out by the Court of Protection
| Service | Fees |
|---|
| Work up to issue of Court Order – Fixed Fee |
£745 |
| Management Fees First Year if capital over £16,000 |
£775 |
| Management Fees First Year if capital under £16,000 |
3.5% of Capital |
| Annual Return – Fixed Fee |
£216 |
| Second Year and thereafter unless capital under £16,000 |
£650 |
| Second Year and thereafter if capital under £16,000 |
3.5% of Capital |
| Property Management Fee – fixed fee |
£300 |
| Travel costs |
£40 per hour |
| HMRC Income Tax Return (Basic: bank or NSI interest, taxable benefits) (Complex: bank or NSI interest, taxable benefits, small investment portfolio) |
Basic - £70
Complex - £140 |
| Appointeeship Fee Capital up to £7428 |
3.5% of Capital |
| Appointeeship Fee Capital over £7428 |
£260 |
Please note: no VAT is to be charged on any of the above
| Service | Fees |
|---|
| Fee for work related to death of service user including preparing position statement and handover of property to be charged on anniversary of death until case closed |
£350 + VAT = £420 |
| Also in year of death an appointment of the appropriate Management Fee will be charged, unless Deputyship application has been submitted but not received then full Application Fee up to Court Order is charged |
as calculated (No VAT) |
| Health and Welfare Deputy – Annual Management Fee |
2.5% of Capital to maximum of £555 NO VAT |
Administration fees to cover our costs Back to top
These apply where we have:
- commissioned a service which includes the provision of meals to a client. This is not a care need and so the cost is rechargeable in full over and above any assessed charge the client must pay. The current rate is £5.75 per day
- agreed to arrange a non-residential service on behalf of a client who is a self-funder and does not have the capacity to arrange it themselves (the council has chosen not to offer an arrangement service for residential care, and is not permitted in law to charge for this anyway)
- arranged a deferred payment agreement with a client in residential care
- agreed to manage a client’s benefits through an appointeeship
These administration fees represent the actual cost to the council of delivering the service. The rates are:
Administrative fees and charges
These are for us to arrange non-residential services to people who are self funders.
Administration set-up fee
This fee of £400.00 is to cover as appropriate the costs of:
- identifying appropriate providers of care and support
- negotiating rates and times for care to be delivered
- putting contracts into place with the providers
- setting up payment methods for the person to pay these care costs
This is a lump sum fee for service set-up, so may be charged more than once if the client asks for:
- a substantive change of care
- a change of service provider
The fee will not be charged again if:
- we change the provider because of contract changes or provider failure
- the level of service provided to the client changes because of a revised assessment of their needs
- the client has a short break in service due to holidays or a hospital stay and then resumes service with the same provider afterwards
Annual administration fee
This is to cover a proportion of the costs of:
- paying the provider for the care and support services
- dealing with any queries relating to services
- monitoring services to ensure providers are providing the support agreed
- invoicing people for the cost of their care including our administration fees
This will be charged from the day service(s) start on a weekly basis of £3.50 per week (equivalent to £182.00 a year) and will be added to the regular bills sent to the client for the service costs.
Deferred payment agreement (DPA) fees
These are:
- set-up and administration: £165.00
- valuation fees undertaken by our property services team: £75.00
- first registration of properties with unregistered title: we expect citizens to arrange this with their solicitors, but if we become obliged to do this then there will be additional land registry fees at actual cost and an administrative charge of £300.00
- perfecting security where the security offered is a first legal charge: £212.00
- perfecting security where there are existing mortgages: £312.00
- removing a charge against a property: £200.00
- letter of undertaking from solicitors pending a sale: £100.00 plus interest
- financial assistance being provided pending legal representative being in place, e.g. deputyship order: £165 plus interest
- short term unsecured financial assistance pending property sale: £165 plus interest
When conducting a financial assessment, we consider any disability benefits the client receives when assessing their ability to pay.
We are required by the Care Act to consider including offsetting allowances for any additional expenditure that arises from that disability. The allowance made by us is based on a banded sum linked to the level of DWP disability benefits granted to the client.
The current values of these allowances are:
- £10.00 per week for lowest DWP benefit rate DLA Care Component
- £15.00 per week for medium rate DLA Care Component, Low rate AA or Standard rate PIP
- £25.00 for the highest DWP rate DLA Care Component, AA or PIP
The Care Act 2014 and associated regulations
- Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) regulations 2014
- Care and Support and Aftercare (Choice of Accommodation) regulations 2014
- Care and Support (Deferred Payment) regulations
Annual Department of Health document
The current is:
Adult social care policy statements
Department of Health
Copies of the relevant statutory documents are available on the Department of Health and Social Care website.
Alternatively, you can call them:
Age UK (previously Age Concern and Help the Aged)
There are also local branches of Age UK in:
Citizens Advice
There is a national network of free advice centres.
Carers UK
A national charity working on behalf of carers, offering a wide range of information on carers’ rights and sources of help and contact details for local carers’ support groups.
The below document displays an example of an invoice you may receive for care. Each section is explained on the second page of the document.
Your invoice explained (197 KB)