Paying for care

The Care Act 2014 states that the council must undertake a financial assessment to determine the amount you can afford to contribute towards your care and support. This is regardless of whether the council thinks you have eligible needs or of your financial circumstances.

All services, whether residential or non-residential will be chargeable except where the council is required to arrange care and support free of charge. The detail of how to charge is different depending on whether you are receiving care in a care home or your own home or another setting.

For more information download our Adult Social Care charging policy (PDF, 412 KB).

When charges do not apply

There are some circumstances and services which the council will not charge for. These include:

• provisions of community equipment (including minor adaptions to property up to £1,000)
• intermediate care and reablement support services must be provided free of charge for up to six weeks
• any services which are provided as part of your aftercare under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983
• if you are suffering from variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease for meeting your needs
• any services which a local authority is under a duty to provide through other legislation may not be charged for under the Care Act 2014
• assessment of needs, financial assessments and the preparation of the care and support plan
• In the same way as chargeable services, all provisions should reflect best value and be clearly linked to specified outcomes

Undergoing a financial assessment

If the council assists with arranging any care services that you need, there will always be a financial assessment to see if you can afford to pay towards the cost of these services.

The financial assessment will look at your:

• income
• savings and investments
• benefits
• any property that you own or part own - where applicable
• any other regular income that you receive

You will be assessed on your own finances which will determine how much you will be expected to contribute towards the cost of the care you receive. It is your responsibility to provide all of the information required to complete the financial assessment. The Financial Assessment Team within the council will aim to complete the financial assessment within 28 days of all required information being received. The completion date is dependent on the council receiving the information requested.

If you do not want to undergo a financial assessment or refuse to cooperate with the assessment process and you have not contacted the council regarding any delays, the council will assume that you have over the £23,250 threshold. You will be charged for the full cost of your care and the council will consider that you do not require any financial contribution from the council until the assessment is completed.

Adult social care debt strategy

The adult social care debt strategy (PDF, 295 KB) emphasises the duty of clients and their representatives to pay their social care charges promptly, upon receipt of invoice. Timely debt collection is crucial to the council in being able to fund the delivery of key services for it's residents. The strategy should be read in conjunction with the Hillingdon council's ASC Charging Policy.

In England, adult social care is currently means-tested and, unlike the NHS, is not free for everyone, with contributions to care dependent on the level of support being provided to the person and their financial situation. This means that most care and support will be subject to a charge, but you will only be asked to pay what you can afford, this will be done by a fair and transparent financial assessment process.

The Care Act 2014 introduces a modern legal framework for the recovery of any debts that may have accrued because of a local authority meeting a person's eligible care and support needs.

The strategy outlines how Hillingdon Council collects any care charges it invoices you or a third party for following an assessment of your care and support needs. It demonstrates action that the council can legally take to pursue outstanding adult social care debts.

There are rules around whether a financial contribution needs to be made by you towards care and support provided to you whilst living in your own home, which is also known as non-residential care. There are also rules around the contribution you may need to make if you are living in a residential home or nursing home.

These rules follow central government policy designed to make sure that people over the age of 18 are charged in a fair and reasonable way. The policy does not apply to people under the age of 18 years. The rules are set out in the Hillingdon ASC Charging Policy.