Manchester Adult Social Care: Contact, Free Assessment and Paying for Care

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.

Ask for an assessment; alternatively, 0161 234 5001.

Carers Manchester, a network of local carers organisations, works with the council and NHS to support unpaid carers.

2. What you pay towards care

Next, finances, if needs qualify. Staying at home? Then the house is disregarded. Moving into residential care? Property normally counts unless a partner or certain relatives still live there, from week 13 of a permanent stay. Capital over £23,250 means the person usually pays the full cost, under £14,250 savings are left out of the sums, and in between tariff income is used.

Manchester City Council: paying for care.

Get prices from 3 care providers near Manchester

Tell us what care is needed and the postcode. We show the CQC-rated services that cover it and pass your request only to the ones you tick.

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When is it needed?

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Where is care needed? Postcode where care is needed

The home address of the person who needs care, or where you would like the care home to be. Not where you are now.

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How will care be paid for? (optional, helps providers quote)

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Who needs care?

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Anything providers should know

By sending, you agree we will contact you by phone and email about your request and share your name, email, phone and care needs with the providers you have ticked, so they can contact you. Privacy notice.

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Providers pay us a fee for each enquiry, never to rank higher in our lists.

Costs and contributions in Manchester

Typical prices for care in and around Manchester, and an estimate of what the person would pay towards it and what Manchester City Council might pay. The calculator starts with local prices; change them to a quote you have.

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	£1,100 a week
Nursing home	£1,400 a week
Manchester City Council pays providers	£24.45 an hour for home care (2025/26 average paid to agencies); £866.02 a week for residential care (2025/26 average, over-65s); £959.09 a week for nursing care (2025/26 average, over-65s)

Typical 2026 prices across England · Average 2026 self-funder fees in North 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.

Help for carers

Looking after someone? You can be assessed separately, free.

Manchester City Council: support for carers. Nearby help for carers: Carers Manchester.

Useful from the council

The council's directory: Help and Support Manchester
What the council pays: £24.45 an hour for home care (2025/26 average paid to agencies); £866.02 a week for residential care (2025/26 average, over-65s); £959.09 a week for nursing care (2025/26 average, over-65s) (source). If you top up to a dearer provider, you pay the difference.

What the data shows for Manchester

There are 83 care homes in Manchester, and 83% of the 70 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (in line with England's 83%). Of these, 38 provide nursing, which is 46% of homes in the area. One company, Standwalk Ltd, runs more services in Manchester than any other: 6 (5 care homes and 1 home care agency). Next is Next Steps Mental Healthcare LTD with 5.

Over the last 12 months CQC published 13 ratings for services in Manchester, and 2 moved to a lower rating, 2 were new services getting a first rating, most recently on 1 October 2026. England-wide, 88% of rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding; in Manchester it is 89%, from 53 rated agencies among the 122 registered.

How recent are the ratings? For care homes in Manchester, the median age is 51 months, against 47 across England; 17% are under two years old. New in the past year: 12 agencies and 12 care homes joined the CQC register in Manchester.

Look closely at Safe when you read reports for care homes in Manchester: 17 of the 70 rated for it fall below Good. At the other end of the scale from the 3 Outstanding care homes, 12 of the area's rated care homes (17%) are Requires improvement or Inadequate; the England share is 17%.

Source: our analysis of CQC data (Oct 2026).

Care guides for Manchester

Manchester is in Manchester. Home care across Manchester · Care homes across Manchester · Top rated in Manchester

Free download

Choosing a care home: the 40-point checklist

Take it on every visit and compare up to three homes side by side: CQC checks, staffing, daily life, the room, fees and the contract.

Search care across Manchester

Manchester
364 home care agencies 17 care homes
Wythenshawe
245 home care agencies 9 care homes

Your questions

How many care homes are there in Manchester?

There are 83 care homes registered with CQC in Manchester, with 2,161 beds in total (CQC register, Oct 2026). 83% of those with a published rating are Good or Outstanding. Best rated care homes in Manchester.

How many home care agencies are there in Manchester?

122 home care agencies registered with CQC are based in Manchester (Oct 2026). 89% of those rated are Good or Outstanding. Agencies based nearby may also cover the area.

How good are care homes in Manchester?

83% of rated care homes in Manchester are Good or Outstanding, about the same as the England figure of 82.6%. 3 are rated Outstanding and 12 Requires improvement or Inadequate. How every council area compares.

How much does a care home cost in Manchester?

A care home in Manchester costs a typical £1,260 a week for someone paying for themselves: about £1,210 for residential care and £1,520 for nursing care. These typical prices are modelled in our Care Fees and Quality Index (Q4 2026); ask homes for actual quotes. See what you might pay.

How much does home care cost per hour in Manchester?

Home care in Manchester costs a typical £32.00 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 Manchester are rated Outstanding?

Moston Grange Nursing Home, St Joseph's - Manchester and Mary & Joseph House are rated Outstanding by CQC.

How many care homes in Manchester offer nursing or dementia care?

38 care homes in Manchester are registered to provide nursing care and 32 list dementia as a specialism. Plenty of homes are registered for both. Nursing homes in Manchester.

Is it hard to find a care home bed in Manchester?

Manchester has 38.3 care home beds for every 1,000 people aged 65 and over, against 43.0 across England, which ranks 100 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 Manchester?

57.1% of rated care homes in Manchester were last rated more than four years ago, and the typical rating is 51 months old. An older rating may not reflect today, so ask about recent changes.

How do I ask Manchester City Council for a care needs assessment?

Contact Manchester City Council adult social care on 0161 234 5001. Anyone who appears to need care can have one free of charge, regardless of savings: it is a right under the Care Act 2014. Request an assessment online.

Which care groups run the most care homes in Manchester?

The largest providers in Manchester are Next Steps Mental Healthcare LTD (5), Standwalk Ltd (5) and HC-One No.5 Limited (3). Each home is rated separately by CQC.