Charges for residential care

Charges in private sector care homes may vary. The amount you will pay will depend on your financial circumstances. This will be decided by your financial assessment.

You may decide to arrange your own accommodation with a care home, without a social care assessment. In this case you may have to pay the full cost of your accommodation fees. Especially if your cost is higher than our contracted rate.  

Short term residential care

Short term residential care placements last up to 8 weeks. We class the following types of care placement as short-term residential care:

• respite care for planned periods
• short stays
• promoting independence placements
• short term assessment beds

We will charge you for your short-term residential care at a standard rate. This rate will apply if we have arranged your care for you.

The standard charge for 2024/2025 is £148.53 per week. This rate will increase every April.

Temporary and permanent residential care

If you move into a care home and have a plan to return home we will class you as a temporary resident. Temporary residential care placements last longer than 8 weeks but generally less than 52 weeks. If you are staying in a temporary care placement we will carry out a financial assessment. This is so we can calculate how much you will need to pay towards the cost of your stay. We will include the value of your main or only home within the financial assessment for permanent care. This property will only be included as an asset, 12 weeks after the date you enter the care home as a permanent resident. In these circumstances we will offer you a Deferred Payment Agreement (DPA).

Savings under £14,250

We will not include the first £14,250 of your savings and capital in the financial assessment.

Savings between £14,250 and £23,250 (tariff income)

For finances above this £14,250 we will apply a tariff. The tariff will only apply for savings up to £23,250. This means that for every £250 you have between £14,250 and £23,250, we assume you can pay £1 towards the cost of your care. For example, if you have savings of £16,000, this will equate to £7 of weekly income in your financial assessment.

Savings over £23,250

If your savings or other capital is over £23,250, you will be responsible for paying your own care home fees. You may also have to enter a private contract arrangement with your care home. In this case you will be classed as self funding.

We can still provide care needs assessments and social care advice if you have over £23,250 in savings or capital.

If your savings or capital are about to fall below £23,250 you should contact us. You can then apply for help with future care home fees. This will mean that your contract with your care home will change. You will need to tell your care home that you have asked us for financial help.

You may be funding your own care home accommodation outside of Gateshead borough. When your capital reduces, you will need to contact the local authority that your care home is in.

Property and land

We will include the capital value of any property or land you own in addition to your main or only home. If you jointly own the property or land, we will include your amount of interest in it as a capital asset. You can use any rental income from your additional property to pay towards your care.We will exclude your main or only home from the financial assessment if the following applies:

• Your partner lives in your property as their main home

• Your ex-partner lives in your property as a lone parent

A relative of yours lives in your property who is either:

• over 60 years old
• under 16 years old
• is incapacitated

Deprivation of capital or property

If you give away an asset or capital with the intention of avoiding the cost of your care we will assess the amount you have to pay as if you still had the asset or capital.

Third party top-up

The care home you choose to live in may be more expensive than our contracted rate. In this case you will need ask someone else to pay the additional amount for you unless you have agreed to a deferred payment agreement.

Personal expenses allowances (PEA)

When we calculate your financial assessment, we will make sure we leave you with a weekly personal expenses allowance. This is so you have enough money to spend on personal items such as clothes and other items that are not part of your care. The rate of this allowance is set by the Department of Health (DoH) and is currently set at £30.15 per week. If you have a financial representative looking after your money they should make sure you receive this allowance each week.

We will also provide a housing allowance for costs such as rent. We will apply this allowance up until your social care review is complete and your tenancy is terminated.

Making payments for residential care in a private care home

We will send you confirmation of the weekly amount you will be expected to pay. Your care home will collect this amount on our behalf.If you choose to enter into a deferred payment agreement , we will recover your outstanding debt when your agreement ends.

Making payments for care in a Promoting Independence Centre (PIC)

If you spend time at one of our PIC's we will invoice you at the end of your stay.