Funding care in Oxfordshire

First, a care needs assessment

Oxfordshire County Council begins by assessing needs, free to you. When those needs are eligible it sets a personal budget, which is its estimate of what meeting them would cost. You can reach adult social care on 01865 519800 (Social and Health Care team). What to expect from an assessment in Oxfordshire.

Then the means test

The council's financial assessment weighs income against capital. Working up from the bottom, the 2026/27 bands are:

• Below £14,250: savings are left out of the sums, and the person pays from income, if anything.
• From £14,250 up to £23,250: the council pays part, and "tariff income" of £1 weekly is added for each £250 beyond £14,250.
• Above £23,250: the person is usually expected to fund the care in full.

Staying at home? Then the house is disregarded and the person keeps at least a Minimum Income Guarantee, set at £241.45 a week for a single pensioner. Moving to residential or nursing care? The property normally counts unless a partner or certain relatives still live there; the first 12 weeks are disregarded, and the resident keeps the Personal Expenses Allowance: £31.80 each week.

Oxfordshire County Council: paying for care.

Deferred payments

Where property is counted towards residential fees, Oxfordshire County Council must make a deferred payment agreement available to those eligible, meaning the home need not be sold during their life. Expect interest and an administration fee.

What the data shows for Oxfordshire

Modelled fees for Q4 2026 put a care home bed in Oxfordshire at £1,850 a week, compared with £1,620 regionally and £1,520 nationally. Nursing places run at about £1,850, residential at about £1,620. In Oxfordshire, 88% of rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding (112 rated out of 174 registered). Across England the figure is 88%.

CQC published 29 ratings for services in Oxfordshire in the last 12 months: 6 were upgraded, 2 fell, 5 services were rated for the first time. The most recent was on 16 October 2026. Paying privately in Oxfordshire, expect around £33.50 an hour for an hour of home care (Q4 2026 estimate) (South East: £33.50; England: £33.50).

87% of rated care homes in Oxfordshire are Good or Outstanding, ahead of the England average of 83%. The area has 141 homes, 119 of them rated. Of these, 82 provide nursing, which is 58% of homes in the area.

Based on the register as of Oct 2026, with Q4 2026 fee estimates from our index.

Choosing your own care with direct payments

You can ask for the council's contribution to home care as cash, then pick an agency or employ a personal assistant. This works whether it funds part of the support or all of it. Oxfordshire County Council: direct payments.

Benefits and NHS funding without a means test

• Attendance Allowance: either £76.70 or £114.60 weekly for those of State Pension age or older who need personal care. Capital and property are ignored, yet many families never claim it.
• Carer's Allowance: a carer putting in 35 hours a week or more could qualify for Carer's Allowance.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare: NHS Continuing Healthcare meets the entire cost if needs are mainly health-related.
• NHS-funded nursing care: NHS-funded nursing care is paid to nursing homes towards residents' nursing.

Find out what you could get.