The cost of care in West Berkshire

Typical prices in West Berkshire

The gap between two agencies is often bigger than the gap between regions. Ask for complete price lists, with weekend and bank holiday charges. For 2026/27, the Homecare Association reckons council-funded home care in England cannot be sustained below £34.42 an hour. Individual homes can be far from the average. What a home charges turns on the room, the care level and whether nursing is part of it. Self-funders tend to be charged more than councils for the same room.

Getting an accurate price

• Per-hour rates on weekdays, in the evening, at weekends and on bank holidays.
• The minimum length of a call, and whether travel is charged.
• For a home: everything the weekly price covers, and how often it goes up.

Collect these in writing, run the totals through the cost calculator, then check your contribution with What will I pay?

West Berkshire in numbers

The middle-sized care home in West Berkshire has 9 beds, and the 44 homes with a registered bed count total 1,201. CQC registers 44 care homes in West Berkshire. 40 are rated, and 90% of these are Good or Outstanding; the England figure is 83%. Nursing homes make up 10 of the total, or 23%.

West Berkshire has 1 Outstanding care home; 10% of its rated care homes (4) sit below Good; the England share is 17%. Modelled fees for Q4 2026 put a visiting carer in West Berkshire at £33.50 an hour, against a regional £33.50 (South East) and £33.50 for England.

By CQC registrations, Purley Park Trust Limited is the biggest operator in West Berkshire (6 services: 5 care homes and 1 home care agency). The second largest is Community Homes of Intensive Care and Education Limited (4 services). Paying privately in West Berkshire, expect around £1,560 a week for residential or nursing care (Q4 2026 estimate). The South East figure is £1,620 and England's is £1,520. Nursing places run at about £1,850, residential at about £1,560.

Figures: CQC register, Oct 2026; fees: Care Fees and Quality Index, Q4 2026.

Quality of care services in West Berkshire

39 home care agencies and 44 care homes are registered with CQC in West Berkshire. Of those rated, 100% of agencies are Good or Outstanding (better than the England figure of 88%) and 90% of care homes (better than England's 83%). 15 agencies and 4 care homes have not been rated yet.