Adult Social Care Fees and Charges

Adult Social Care services are not free

The following charges relate to the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

All charges are reviewed annually with the exception of interest rates on deferred payments which are adjusted every 6 months.

Paying for Care

The amount you pay for care will vary depending on your individual situation and your financial circumstances. You may have to pay for all of the costs, or you may be able to apply for financial assistance. If you apply there is a financial assessment process to determine how much you will have to pay.

The following are our usual charges for care. These charges will apply in full for people paying full cost of care. This will usually be people with capital in excess of £23,250. For people who receive financial assistance, the cost will be capped at the level of their assessed charge. This is as determined by their financial assessment.

Find out about paying for adult social care

Arrangement Fee for Self-funders

If you have to pay the full cost of your care, you can still ask us to arrange care for you.

Where we arrange services on your behalf, we will charge a fee which covers the cost of doing this. The care and supports statutory guidance allows us to do this.

The arrangement fee is £300. This will be charged the first time we arrange a care package for you. We will charge a further fee of £300 if you require a significant change to your care package.

Examples of a significant change include:

• a change to the type of care
• a change in provider
• a change requiring negotiation / renegotiation in cost

Charges for Care at Home and Supportive Lifestyles

Charges can vary between care providers. If you ask us to arrange your care, we will negotiate the price with the provider. Costs are variable between providers, however, there is a usual maximum price for services arranged by us. Occasionally the cost may be higher than this, for example for a specialist service.

Standard Charges for Care at Home and Supportive Lifestyles

Type of Care	2023/24 ceiling rate (new packages) (£/hr)	2024/25 ceiling rate (new packages) (£/hr)	Inflationary uplift for existing packages held by DPS providers
Care at Home (Day Rate)	£23.98	£26.08	8.75%
Care at Home (Waking Night rate)	£19.21	£20.89	8.75%
Supportive Lifestyles (Core)	£19.21	£20.89	8.75%
Supportive Lifestyles (1:1)	£20.97	£22.80	8.75%
Supportive Lifestyles/Home Care (Night Rate-Sleep in)	£14.21	£15.45	8.75%
Supportive Lifestyles (Waking Night rate)	£19.21	£20.89	8.75%

Shared Lives

Shared Lives is a scheme where adults with support needs live with a family who provide board, lodgings and support.

If you are supported through Shared Lives, you are responsible for the cost of rent, food and utilities. You will pay these costs directly to Shared Lives South West. You may be entitled to Housing Benefit for help with rent but will need to pay for food and utilities from your own income. These costs will be set out in the Shared Lives agreement.

If you need help with the cost of support provided to meet your eligible care needs, you will be required to apply for financial assistance. This will assess how much you may be required to pay.

Shared Lives is also used by some individuals to provide respite care (Short breaks).

Care Element	Cost 2024/25
Long Term Provider Fee	£110.71 per week
Long Term Band 1	£211.17 per week
Long Term Band 2	£279.00 per week
Long Term Band 3	£345.54 per week
Long Term Band 4	£460.72 per week
Short Break A	£11.20 per hour
Short Break B	£13.18 per hour
Short Break Special	£15.16 per hour
Short Break Provider Fee	£3.84
Overnight A	£81.73
Overnight B	£101.49
Overnight Special	£121.25
Overnight Provider Fee	£14.06

Day Care Charges

A standard charge applies for day care provided by Cornwall Council. Day care is usually available in half day or full day sessions, with a full day being approximately six hours.

We provide day care through a number of different external providers as well as some in house services each charges different rates.

Prices for a whole day session usually range from around £30 to £60 with the average being approximately £43, occasionally the cost may be higher than this, for example for a specialist service.

View our Day Opportunities

Meals Charges

Cornwall Council will charge the full cost of any meal provided as part of a care package. Meals are individually commissioned, and prices may vary.

Care Homes

Cornwall Council and the NHS have a contract for the provision of care home services. If you ask the Council to arrange your care, we will agree the price for your placement with the provider on a case by case basis. This will be based on the hours of care required to meet your individual assessed needs (the Tier). The price will usually be within the Expected Range set out below. Sometimes we will not be able to source the care you need within this Expected Range and in this situation we will negotiate the price on your behalf.

We will always look to find the best value for money placement that can meet your assessed needs. The price you pay will be the actual price paid by us for your placement.

Residential Care Home Placements (care home without nursing)

Tiers	Additional dedicated 1:1 hours	Expected Range 2023-24	Expected Range 2024-25 (8.75% uplift)
Residential Tier 1	-	£822-£883	£894-£960
Residential Tier 2	-	£878-£938	£955-£1,020
Residential Tier 3	1-10 hours	£1,044-£1,105	£1,136-£1,201
Residential Tier 4	11+ hours	Bespoke	Bespoke

 

Nursing Care Home Placements (care homes with nursing)

Where a person has been assessed by an NHS professional as having nursing needs, the NHS make a payment towards the cost of your care. This is known as the NHS funded nursing care (FNC) rate. The Expected Range for nursing care below includes the amount of the FNC. The Council pays the care home provider the weekly fee below minus FNC amount and the care home provider will claim the FNC directly from the NHS.

Tiers	Additional dedicated 1:1 hours	Expected Range 2023-24 (includes FNC)	Expected Range 2024-25 (includes FNC) (8.75% uplift)
Nursing Tier 1		£1,154-£1,217	£1,255 to £1,324
Nursing Tier 2	1-10 hours	£1,322-£1,384	£1,437 to £1,505
Nursing Tier 3	11-20 hours	£1,489-£1,552	£1,619 to £1,687
Nursing Tier 4	Greater than 20 hours	Bespoke	Bespoke

 

Direct Payments

A person who has eligible social care needs has choice as to how they can receive their care and support. A social work professional will assess your eligible social care needs and determine a Personal Budget. This is the amount of money the Council sets aside to pay for the person's care and support. A Direct Payment is where the person decides to buy the care and support themselves, rather than have the Council do this for them.

If a person is:

• eligible to have a Direct Payment, and
• would like to arrange their care and support themselves

the Council will give the person enough money to buy the support they need.

Cornwall Council supports Direct Payments to help people in meeting their eligible needs. This helps them have greater independence as well as choice and control over the care received. 

Service	Unit of Measurement	2024/25 Rate
Personal Assistant - day rate	Hourly rate, inclusive of ‘on- costs’	£14.72
Personal Assistant – day  rate respite	Hourly rate, inclusive of ‘on- costs’	£14.72
Personal Assistant - night Rate	Hourly rate	Waking Night £15.95 Sleeping Night £10.63
Personal Assistant - night rate respite	Hourly rate, inclusive of ‘on- costs’	Waking Night £15.95 Sleeping Night £10.63
Homecare - Agency	Hourly rate	Day Rate £26.08 Waking Night Rate £20.89
Supported Lifestyles - Agency	Hourly rate	Day Rate £22.80 Waking Night £20.89  Night Rate-Sleep in £15.45
Respite in care home – Residential	Weekly Cost	Tier 1 £894 Tier 2 £955 Tier 3 £1,136
Respite in Care Home – Nursing (Including FNC)	Weekly cost	Tier 1 £1,255 Tier 2 £1,437 Tier 3 £1,619
Tier 4 will be calculated using The Care Funding Calculator
Day Care	Full daily cost (average) Half daily cost (average)	£48.41 £25.91
Barrier Products allowance (where PA employed only)	Annual cost	£54.00

 

Find out about Direct Payments

Deferred Payments

A Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA) is a form of loan arrangement with the Council. It is for people in residential nursing care who have been assessed to pay the full cost of their care. The loan is secured against the person's property.

See our Deferred Payments Policy for further information. The charges are currently:

Set up fees

Cost type	Type of charge	Amount
Sole-owned and registered property	One off cost whether or not the application proceeds to completion	£419.29
Jointly owned/ unregistered/mortgaged property	One off cost whether or not the application proceeds to completion	£589.88
Valuation fees	Chargeable whenever a valuation is needed or requested.  See * and ** below	£450

 * If the property is out of county and it is necessary to commission a surveyor local to that area for a valuation, this may attract additional costs.

**When 70% of the equity value (deferred amount) has been reached there will be a further valuation. We also reserve the right to undertake further valuations. This is where there is significant change which is likely to have impacted on the value of the property. This charge will also be raised when the person requests a further valuation.

Fixed legal charges

Cost type	Amount
Priority search	£3
Copy of Land register and title plan	£6
Land Charge search unregistered land	£2 per name
Application to register at Land Registry	£20-£140

Closing fees

Cost type	Amount
Sole-owned and registered property	£134.04

 

Other administration fees to be added and due for payment at the time of closure

Cost type	Amount
Redemption statement	£31.02
6 monthly statement	£31.02
Reminder letter issued for repayment of debt after agreement has ended	£12.74
Debt recovery costs (any costs incurred in recovering the debt, if not repaid in full at the end of the agreement, may be charged in full)	Variable

 

Deferred Payments Interest charges

Interest will be charged at the maximum rate set by the Department of Health and Social Care. This is currently:

01/01/2024 – 30/06/2024 (inclusive) at 4.65% (compounded daily)

The interest rate is reviewed twice-yearly by the Department of Health and Social Care in January and July. 

Appointee Fees

An Appointee is someone appointed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who acts for someone who is unable to manage their own finances. This is  with regard to:

• claiming state benefits
• making payments on behalf of the person for cost towards their care,
• and arranging personal spending or other items considered to be in the best interests of the person

In exceptional circumstances, the Council offers to be an appointee to:

• manage the finances of people who are unable to do this for themselves, and
• have no one else who is willing or able to do this for them

The Council can be Appointee for people living in residential care and in the community.

Balance of individual bank account	Community (weekly fee)	Residential (weekly fee)	Annual cost of fee for Appointee service
Under £1000	£0	£0	£0
£1001 - £2000	£1	£1	£52
£2001 - £16000	£14	£9	£728 Community £468 Residential
Above £16,001	Consider if Deputyship required	Consider if Deputyship required

The fee will be collected quarterly, approximately 1^st July, October, January and April of each financial year.

If your balance is over £16,001, we will consider if appointee ship is appropriate to continue. We may apply to the Court of Protection for Deputyship to manage your finances.

If we cease to provide an Appointee service and someone else takes over as appointee, we will charge a fee of £235 to end our service.

In the event of someone passing away we will charge an administration fee of £315 to pay any remaining bills and close the account.