Council care and support
Getting help with care in Lincolnshire
Help with care in Lincolnshire starts with Lincolnshire County Council. Anyone who appears to need support can ask for a free care needs assessment, whatever their savings. Call 01522 782155.
We last compared these details with the official website on 15 October 2026.
1. Ask for a care needs assessment
The assessment is free and is a legal right under the Care Act 2014. It looks at what the person can and cannot manage, and whether they meet the national eligibility criteria. It does not commit you to council-arranged care.
Ask for an assessment or call 01522 782155.
Advisers can be reached by phone to discuss care needs, and Connect to Support Lincolnshire lists local care and support services.
2. Find out what you will pay
If the person is eligible, the council carries out a financial assessment. In England, someone with savings above £23,250 is usually expected to fund the care in full; below £14,250, savings are left out of the sums, and in between a tariff income applies. For care at home, the property they live in is ignored. For a care home it usually is counted, unless a partner or certain relatives still live there, though not for the first 12 weeks of a permanent stay.
What care could cost in Lincolnshire
Here are local price ranges. The calculator below uses them to split the cost between the person and the council; swap in a real quote if you have one.
| Service | Usual price |
|---|---|
| Visiting care | around £32–£34 an hour |
| Live-in care | around £1,540–£1,610 a week |
| Residential care home | £1,125 a week |
| Nursing home | £1,370 a week |
| Council rate | 2026/27 (proposed): home care £26.15 per hour urban (£27.85 rural, £31.29 isolated); older people residential £767 per week (higher dependence £848); nursing £849 per week (FNC not stated) |
Typical 2026 prices across England · Average 2026 self-funder fees in East Midlands · 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. Choosing your own provider
Rather than have services arranged for you, ask for the council's share as cash and make your own arrangements, an agency included.
If you look after someone
Unpaid carers have a right to be assessed in their own right, free to you.
Lincolnshire County Council: support for carers. Nearby help for carers: Lincolnshire Carers Service.
Council resources
- The council's directory: Connect to Support Lincolnshire
- Council rates: 2026/27 (proposed): home care £26.15 per hour urban (£27.85 rural, £31.29 isolated); older people residential £767 per week (higher dependence £848); nursing £849 per week (FNC not stated) (source). If you top up to a dearer provider, you pay the difference.
What the data shows for Lincolnshire
New in the past year: 8 agencies and 22 care homes joined the CQC register in Lincolnshire. Among care homes in Lincolnshire, Well-led is the area most often rated below Good: 70 of the 262 with a Well-led rating.
One company, Linkage Community Trust, runs more services in Lincolnshire than any other: 17 (16 care homes and 1 home care agency). Next is Prime Life Limited with 12. 34% of rated care homes in Lincolnshire were rated in the last two years. The typical rating is 44 months old, compared with 47 nationally.
Over the last 12 months CQC published 71 ratings for services in Lincolnshire: 3 were upgraded, 1 fell, 8 services were rated for the first time, most recently on 19 October 2026. England-wide, 88% of rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding; in Lincolnshire it is 87%, from 83 rated agencies among the 125 registered.
There are 280 care homes in Lincolnshire, and 77% of the 262 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (behind England's 83%). Of these, 68 provide nursing, which is 24% of homes in the area. At the other end of the scale from the 17 Outstanding care homes, 61 of the area's rated care homes (23%) are Requires improvement or Inadequate, compared with 17% nationally.
Source: our analysis of CQC data (Oct 2026).
Care guides for Lincolnshire
- What care costs in Lincolnshire
- Funding care in Lincolnshire
- Getting a care needs assessment in Lincolnshire
- Dementia care in Lincolnshire
- Learning disability care in Lincolnshire
- Mental health care in Lincolnshire
- Physical disability care in Lincolnshire
- Sight and hearing loss care in Lincolnshire
- Highest rated care homes in Lincolnshire
- Highest rated home care agencies in Lincolnshire
- All nursing homes in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is part of Lincolnshire. Home care across Lincolnshire · Care homes across Lincolnshire · Top rated in Lincolnshire
Free download
A 40-point checklist for comparing care homes
Forty questions on staffing, daily life, rooms, fees and the contract, laid out so you can compare three homes.
Towns in Lincolnshire
Lincoln
Washingborough
Branston
Nettleham
Saxilby
Deeping St James
Market Deeping
Welton
Boston
Grantham
Holbeach
Louth
Gainsborough
Spalding
Skegness
Spilsby
Bourne
Mablethorpe
Long Sutton
Sleaford
Heckington
Alford
Market Rasen
Sutton on Sea
Your questions
How many care homes are there in Lincolnshire?
There are 280 care homes registered with CQC in Lincolnshire, with 8,927 beds in total (CQC register, Oct 2026). 77% of those with a published rating are Good or Outstanding. Best rated care homes in Lincolnshire.
How many home care agencies are there in Lincolnshire?
125 home care agencies registered with CQC are based in Lincolnshire (Oct 2026). 87% of those rated are Good or Outstanding. Agencies based nearby may also cover the area.
How good are care homes in Lincolnshire?
77% of rated care homes in Lincolnshire are Good or Outstanding, below the England figure of 82.6%. 17 are rated Outstanding and 61 Requires improvement or Inadequate. Compare all council areas.
How much does a care home cost in Lincolnshire?
A care home in Lincolnshire costs a typical £1,290 a week for someone paying for themselves: about £1,290 for residential care and £1,540 for nursing care. Figures are modelled from our Care Fees and Quality Index (Q4 2026) and are not quotes. Estimate your own contribution.
How much does home care cost per hour in Lincolnshire?
Home care in Lincolnshire costs a typical £33.50 an hour for someone paying privately (Q4 2026). Weekend, evening and bank holiday rates are usually higher, and short visits may not be offered.
Which care homes in Lincolnshire are rated Outstanding?
OSJCT Gregory House, Thimbleby Court, Holbeach Meadows Care Home, Eagle House Residential Care Home, OSJCT Hartsholme House and The Old Hall are rated Outstanding by CQC (17 in total).
How many care homes in Lincolnshire offer nursing or dementia care?
68 care homes in Lincolnshire are registered to provide nursing care and 171 list dementia as a specialism. Many homes offer both. Nursing homes in Lincolnshire.
Is it hard to find a care home bed in Lincolnshire?
Lincolnshire has 47.0 care home beds for every 1,000 people aged 65 and over, against 43.0 across England, which ranks 41 of 151 council areas. A lower figure tends to mean fewer rooms free at any time; begin looking before you need to. Care Access Gap.
How old are care home ratings in Lincolnshire?
46.2% of rated care homes in Lincolnshire were last rated more than four years ago, and the typical rating is 44 months old. Check the date on any rating and ask what has changed since.
How do I ask Lincolnshire County Council for a care needs assessment?
Contact Lincolnshire County Council adult social care on 01522 782155. It costs nothing and savings do not affect your right to it (Care Act 2014). Start an assessment request online.
Which care groups run the most care homes in Lincolnshire?
The largest providers in Lincolnshire are Linkage Community Trust (16), Prime Life Limited (12) and Home from Home Care Limited (9). Check each home, as CQC rates them individually.
Funding care yourself? Describe what is needed; we send it to a maximum of three local providers who accept enquiries via our site, and just those you select.
Check availabilitySources we used
- www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/adult-social-care
- www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/adult-social-care/social-care-support
- www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/adult-social-care/social-care-support/2
- www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/paying-care-1
- www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/paying-care-1/care-charges-charging-policy
- www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/support-carers
- gov.uk: Care Act statutory guidance
Built from the Care Quality Commission's register (Oct 2026) under Open Government Licence v3.0. The Care Panel lists and compares services but runs none.