Adult social care
Getting help with care in Cornwall
Cornwall Council is the place to start. Any adult who seems to need help may be assessed, free, regardless of savings. Call 0300 1234 131.
Last reviewed: 15 October 2026.
1. Get assessed
Which daily tasks are hard, and do they meet the national threshold? That is the question the assessment answers. It is free, a statutory right, and carries no obligation to take council services.
Start a request with Cornwall Council; alternatively, 0300 1234 131.
Individual carers' assessments are requested through the Carers Support Service, and the Kernow Directory lists care homes, home care and community services.
2. What you pay towards care
Next, finances, if needs qualify. Staying at home? Then the value of the person's home is not counted. Moving into residential care? Property normally counts unless a partner, or a relative who qualifies, is still living in it, from week 13 of a permanent stay. Capital over £23,250 means the person usually pays the full cost, under £14,250 capital is disregarded, and in between tariff income is used.
Estimate care costs in Cornwall
Use local prices to estimate the person's share and the council's. Figures start at regional typical rates and can be changed to match any quote.
| Type of care | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Visiting care | around £32–£34 an hour |
| Live-in care | around £1,540–£1,610 a week |
| Residential care home | £1,349 a week |
| Nursing home | £1,546 a week |
| Cornwall Council pays providers | 2026/27 older people's care home contract rates: residential (standard) £987.46-£1,060.36/week; nursing (enhanced) £1,117.26-£1,193.47/week excl. FNC; homecare agency rate (direct payments) £28.89/hour |
Typical 2026 prices across England · Average 2026 self-funder fees in South West · Lottie Care Index, Q3 2026 · Which?, self-funder fees (Lottie data, January 2026).
Rules applied (2026/27, England): savings above £23,250 usually mean paying in full; below £14,250 they are ignored; in between, every £250 adds £1 a week of assumed income. Allowances: minimum income guarantee £241.45 a week (single, pension age) and personal expenses allowance £31.80 a week. Official source: GOV.UK charging circular. Your council does the real calculation and may be more generous.
3. Take the funding yourself
A direct payment puts you in charge: you hire the agency or carer. You can ask for one whenever the council contributes to the cost.
Help for carers
Looking after someone? You can be assessed separately, free.
Cornwall Council: support for carers. Nearby help for carers: Carers Support Service.
Useful from the council
- Services directory: Kernow Directory
- Published council care rates: 2026/27 older people's care home contract rates: residential (standard) £987.46-£1,060.36/week; nursing (enhanced) £1,117.26-£1,193.47/week excl. FNC; homecare agency rate (direct payments) £28.89/hour (source). Choosing a pricier provider means paying the gap.
Local picture: Cornwall
Look closely at Well-led when you read reports for care homes in Cornwall: 43 of the 194 rated for it fall below Good. New in the past year: 10 agencies and 6 care homes joined the CQC register in Cornwall.
In Cornwall, 91% of rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding (86 rated out of 120 registered). Across England the figure is 88%. Over the last 12 months CQC published 40 ratings for services in Cornwall, and 3 went up, 6 were new services getting a first rating, most recently on 30 September 2026.
How recent are the ratings? For care homes in Cornwall, the median age is 47 months, against 47 across England; 19% are under two years old. 5 care homes in Cornwall are rated Outstanding, and 36 are rated Requires improvement or Inadequate (19% of those rated; England: 17%).
One company, Green Light PBS Limited, runs more services in Cornwall than any other: 18 (18 care homes). Sanctuary Care Limited follows with 13 services. 81% of rated care homes in Cornwall are Good or Outstanding, short of the England average of 83%. The area has 199 homes, 194 of them rated. 23% (45) are registered to provide nursing care.
Source: our analysis of CQC data (Oct 2026).
Care guides for Cornwall
- How much care costs in Cornwall
- Paying for care in Cornwall
- How to get assessed for care in Cornwall
- Dementia care in Cornwall
- Learning disability care in Cornwall
- Mental health care in Cornwall
- Physical disability care in Cornwall
- Sight and hearing loss care in Cornwall
- Best rated care homes in Cornwall
- Cornwall: best rated home care agencies
- All nursing homes in Cornwall
Cornwall is in Cornwall. Home care across Cornwall · Care homes across Cornwall · Top rated in Cornwall
Free download
The care home visit checklist (40 points)
Forty questions on staffing, daily life, rooms, fees and the contract, laid out so you can compare three homes.
Care by town in Cornwall
Saltash
Redruth
Truro
Camborne
St Agnes
St Austell
Newquay
Hayle
Liskeard
Bodmin
Falmouth
Penzance
Launceston
Bude
Callington
Helston
Looe
Wadebridge
Frequently asked
How many care homes are there in Cornwall?
There are 199 care homes registered with CQC in Cornwall, with 4,892 beds in total (CQC register, Oct 2026). 81% of those with a published rating are Good or Outstanding. Best rated care homes in Cornwall.
How many home care agencies are there in Cornwall?
120 home care agencies registered with CQC are based in Cornwall (Oct 2026). 91% of those rated are Good or Outstanding. Agencies based nearby may also cover the area.
How good are care homes in Cornwall?
81% of rated care homes in Cornwall are Good or Outstanding, about the same as the England figure of 82.6%. 5 are rated Outstanding and 36 Requires improvement or Inadequate. Council areas ranked for care home quality.
How much does a care home cost in Cornwall?
A care home in Cornwall costs a typical £1,530 a week for someone paying for themselves: about £1,450 for residential care and £1,690 for nursing care. These typical prices are modelled in our Care Fees and Quality Index (Q4 2026); ask homes for actual quotes. Check what you could be charged.
How much does home care cost per hour in Cornwall?
Home care in Cornwall costs a typical £33.50 an hour for someone paying privately (Q4 2026). Evenings, weekends and bank holidays usually cost more, and many agencies have a minimum visit length.
Which care homes in Cornwall are rated Outstanding?
Coombe House Residential Home, Montrose Barn, St Anne's - Saltash, Crossroads House Care Home and Porthgwara Nursing Home are rated Outstanding by CQC.
How many care homes in Cornwall offer nursing or dementia care?
45 care homes in Cornwall are registered to provide nursing care and 107 list dementia as a specialism. Plenty of homes are registered for both. Nursing homes in Cornwall.
Is it hard to find a care home bed in Cornwall?
Cornwall has 31.6 care home beds for every 1,000 people aged 65 and over, against 43.0 across England, which ranks 127 of 151 council areas. Where beds are scarce, vacancies are too, so it pays to start the search early. Care Access Gap.
How old are care home ratings in Cornwall?
47.4% of rated care homes in Cornwall were last rated more than four years ago, and the typical rating is 47 months old. An older rating may not reflect today, so ask about recent changes.
How do I ask Cornwall Council for a care needs assessment?
Contact Cornwall Council adult social care on 0300 1234 131. Anyone who appears to need care can have one free of charge, regardless of savings: it is a right under the Care Act 2014. Ask for an assessment online.
Which care groups run the most care homes in Cornwall?
The largest providers in Cornwall are Green Light PBS Limited (18), Sanctuary Care Limited (13) and Modus Care Limited (10). Each home is rated separately by CQC.
Paying privately, or topping up? Tell us what's needed and we'll pass your request to up to three providers in Cornwall that take enquiries through us. Only the ones you tick see your details.
Find care with spaceReferences
- www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/adult-social-care/
- www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/adult-social-care/request-help-for-an-adult/
- www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/adult-social-care/paying-for-adult-social-care/
- www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/carers/
- www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/carers/assessments-and-financial-support-for-carers/
- www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/adult-social-care/fees-and-charges/
- www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-news/health-wellbeing-and-social-care/new-kernow-directory-website-to-help-people-in-cornwall-find-local-support/
- gov.uk: Care Act statutory guidance
Data: CQC register, Oct 2026, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We are an independent directory and do not provide care.