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

1. Start with a needs assessment

It costs nothing, the law guarantees it, and it ties you to nothing. The aim is to establish which everyday tasks are a struggle and whether national thresholds are met.

Ask Plymouth City Council for an assessment or ring 01752 668000.

You can start an online social care self-assessment for yourself or someone else and then ask for a full assessment. The council contact centre is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

2. The means test

A means test follows for anyone eligible. Below £14,250, savings are ignored; over £23,250, the person normally meets the whole cost; in the band between, tariff income is assumed. Support at home leaves the property out. Residential care brings it in after the first 12 weeks of a permanent stay, unless a partner or some qualifying relatives continue to live there.

Plymouth City Council: paying for care.

Get prices from 3 care providers near Plymouth

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Who needs care?

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Costs and contributions in Plymouth

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

Care	Price range
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

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. Choose your own care with direct payments

If the council funds some or all of the care, you can ask for the money as a direct payment and arrange care yourself, including with an agency you choose.

Plymouth City Council: direct payments.

Family carers

You do not have to wait for the person you support: a carer's assessment is a separate right, and free of charge.

Plymouth City Council: support for carers. Nearby help for carers: Caring for Carers (Improving Lives Plymouth).

Also from Plymouth City Council

Directory of local services: Plymouth Online Directory

Care in Plymouth: the local figures

New in the past year: 8 agencies and 5 care homes joined the CQC register in Plymouth. England-wide, 88% of rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding; in Plymouth it is 88%, from 32 rated agencies among the 52 registered.

Outstanding: 9. Requires improvement or Inadequate: 18, or 21% of rated care homes in Plymouth; the England share is 17%. There are 87 care homes in Plymouth, and 79% of the 85 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (lower than England's 83%). 20 of them (23%) are registered as nursing homes.

By CQC registrations, Achieve Together Limited and Karlyon Care Ltd are the joint largest operators in Plymouth (4 services each). In Plymouth, 17% of rated care homes have a rating from the past two years, and the median rating dates from 52 months ago (47 for England as a whole).

Over the last 12 months CQC published 11 ratings for services in Plymouth; of those, 1 improved, 3 were downgraded, most recently on 20 October 2026. The key question that most often falls short for care homes in Plymouth is Well-led (22 of 85 below Good). 15 of 85 care homes are rated Outstanding for Caring, a higher share than for any other area.

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

Care guides for Plymouth

Plymouth includes Plymouth. Home care across Plymouth · Care homes across Plymouth · Top rated in Plymouth

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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.

Search care across Plymouth

Plymouth
60 home care agencies 48 care homes

Questions about care in Plymouth

How many care homes are there in Plymouth?

There are 87 care homes registered with CQC in Plymouth, with 2,262 beds in total (CQC register, Oct 2026). 79% of those with a published rating are Good or Outstanding. Best rated care homes in Plymouth.

How many home care agencies are there in Plymouth?

52 home care agencies registered with CQC are based in Plymouth (Oct 2026). 88% of those rated are Good or Outstanding. Agencies based nearby may also cover the area.

How good are care homes in Plymouth?

79% of rated care homes in Plymouth are Good or Outstanding, below the England figure of 82.6%. 9 are rated Outstanding and 18 Requires improvement or Inadequate. See how other areas compare.

How much does a care home cost in Plymouth?

A care home in Plymouth 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 are modelled typical prices from our Care Fees and Quality Index (Q4 2026), not quotes. Work out what you would pay.

How much does home care cost per hour in Plymouth?

Home care in Plymouth costs a typical £33.50 an hour for someone paying privately (Q4 2026). Out-of-hours and bank holiday visits normally cost extra; many agencies also set a minimum visit time.

Which care homes in Plymouth are rated Outstanding?

Wisteria House Plymstock Limited, Ryver House, Brunel House, IOTA CARE, Hartley Park Care Home and Wisteria House Stoke Limited are rated Outstanding by CQC (9 in total).

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

20 care homes in Plymouth are registered to provide nursing care and 44 list dementia as a specialism. Some homes do both. Nursing homes in Plymouth.

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

Plymouth has 43.3 care home beds for every 1,000 people aged 65 and over, against 43.0 across England, which ranks 61 of 151 council areas. With fewer beds per older resident, expect less choice and start early. Care Access Gap.

How old are care home ratings in Plymouth?

54.1% of rated care homes in Plymouth were last rated more than four years ago, and the typical rating is 52 months old. Always look at when a home was rated and ask about changes since.

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

Contact Plymouth City Council adult social care on 01752 668000. The Care Act 2014 gives a free assessment to anyone who seems to need care, whatever their money. Online assessment request.

Which care groups run the most care homes in Plymouth?

The largest providers in Plymouth are Karlyon Care Ltd (4), Modus Care (Plymouth) Limited (4) and Achieve Together Limited (3). Ratings apply home by home, not to the group.