Guides · Updated November 2026
Care guides
Plain-English guides to arranging care in England: what it costs, how to pay, how to choose a provider and what the council must do. Written from official guidance and the CQC register.
- All guides
- Cost & Funding · 146
- Regulation & Quality · 62
- Retirement living · 22
- Respite for Carers · 16
- Live-in Care · 15
- Alzheimer's & Dementia · 50
- Care homes · 124
- Reablement · 16
- London · 99
- End-of-Life & Palliative · 28
- Overnight Care · 11
- Personal Care · 15
- Carer Support · 48
- Elderly Care · 99
Care homes
What is a care home? Types, costs and what to expectA care home is a registered residential service providing accommodation with personal care, and in nursing homes a qualified nurse on duty at all…
Care homes
How long since a care home was inspected? 2026 analysis49.2% of rated care homes and 54.3% of rated home care services in England had a latest CQC rating published four or more years…
Elderly Care
Home care agencies by council area: 2026 office counts and ratingsEngland has 13,543 CQC-registered home care locations, 12.1 per 10,000 people aged 65+; 87.4% of those rated are Good or Outstanding, but 33.7% have…
Care homes
Care home beds per older person by council: the 2026 access gapEngland has 81.6 registered care home beds per 1,000 people aged 75+, ranging from 28.4 in Haringey to 140.9 in Middlesbrough.
Care homes
Care home ratings by council: 2026 league tableOur analysis of CQC data at 1 October 2026 finds 82.6% of rated care homes in England are rated Good or Outstanding, from 57.1%…
Carer Support
Help for unpaid carers in Wales: benefits and grants (2026/27)Support for unpaid carers in Wales in 2026/27: carer's needs assessments, Carer's Allowance and other benefits, the Short Breaks Scheme, Carers Support Fund and…
Care homes
Care home top-up fees in Wales: additional costs and choice of homeCare home top-ups in Wales explained: your right to choose a home, when a top-up is not allowed, who can pay, the written agreement…
Cost & Funding
NHS Continuing Healthcare in Wales: eligibility, assessment, appealsHow NHS Continuing Healthcare works in Wales: the primary health need test, the Checklist and Decision Support Tool, fast track, direct payments and how…
Cost & Funding
Home care charges in Wales: the £100 weekly cap explained (2026/27)How councils in Wales work out home care charges in 2026/27: the £100 weekly cap, the £24,000 capital limit, the Minimum Income Amount and…
Carer Support
Carer Support Payment and help for carers in Scotland (2026/27)Carer Support Payment pays £86.45 a week in 2026/27 to carers in Scotland giving 35 hours of care, with an £11.70 weekly supplement and…
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