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Paying for care

How we work out what you have to pay towards help at home or in a care home, where to get independent financial advice and what to do about benefits
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Paying for your care and support
You should expect to pay towards the cost of your care. The amount you pay depends on your level of need and the value of your income, savings and assets.
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Paying for your own care - self-funder
If you’re paying the full cost of your care to live independently at home or in a care home, you’re known as a self-funder.
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Independent financial advice
If you’re planning for care needs for the future, it is important to get appropriate financial advice
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Managing someone else's affairs
You can apply for the right to look after financial and legal affairs and make decisions for someone else if they aren’t able to do it for themselves.
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Financial assessment for care at home
If your care and support assessment shows that you have eligible needs, you can have a financial assessment to work out how much you’ll need to pay towards your care in your own home, in someone else’s home (shared lives), supported living or extra-care housing.
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Personal budgets
Your personal budget is the total amount of money allocated to you to meet your care and support needs, as agreed in your support plan, following your care and support assessment.
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Direct payments
If you’re eligible for a personal budget, you can have this money as a direct payment. This means that you can arrange your support directly with the person or organisation you want to use instead of the council arranging services for you.
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Direct payment cards
A direct payment card is a pre-paid card which is similar to a normal debit card. You use the card to pay your care and support providers.
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Disabled facilities grant
You may be able to get money to help you make changes to your home. The Disabled Facilities Grant can help you with home adaptations costing over £1,000.
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Financial assessment for a care home
If your care and support assessment shows that you have eligible needs, you can have a financial assessment to work out how much you’ll need to pay towards your care home.
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Using your home to pay for a care home
You won’t have to sell your home in your lifetime to pay the cost of a care home.
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Care homes costing more than we will pay
If you choose a care home that costs more than we have allocated for your care, you or someone else will have to make extra payments to cover the shortfall. These are known as ‘top-ups’.
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Changes to benefits when you go into a care home
Some of the benefits you and your carer (or your husband, wife, civil or unmarried partner if they’re not your carer) get will stop or change because you’re no longer living at home.
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Benefits for adults
You may be able to claim benefits or get financial help.
News
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Chance to have say on residential and nursing care fees
Public meeting to be held at County Hall
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Consultation planned on residential and nursing care fees
Cabinet to consider care fee changes
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Cabinet to discuss improving support for carers
Ways of improving support will be discussed by Cabinet members