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
- Personal Care · 15
- End-of-Life & Palliative · 28
- London · 99
- Elderly Care · 99
- Carer Support · 48
- Overnight Care · 11
- Live-in Care · 15
- Regulation & Quality · 62
- Cost & Funding · 146
- Retirement living · 22
- Care homes · 124
- Alzheimer's & Dementia · 50
- Reablement · 16
- Respite for Carers · 16
Cost & Funding
Power of attorney in Scotland: continuing, welfare and guardianshipIn Scotland a continuing or welfare power of attorney costs £99 to register from April 2026; without one, families usually need a slower, costlier…
Care homes
Care home top-up fees in Scotland: who pays and choice of homeA top-up in Scotland is the extra a relative pays when a council-supported resident chooses a home costing more than the National Care Home…
Cost & Funding
NHS continuing care in Scotland: Hospital Based Complex Clinical CareScotland replaced NHS continuing healthcare with Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care in 2015, which is fully NHS-funded only when needs can be met solely…
Cost & Funding
Home care charges in Scotland: what’s free and what you pay (2026/27)In Scotland personal care at home is free for anyone assessed as needing it, but councils can still charge for housework, day care, meals…
Carer Support
Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Support Grant in Ireland (2026)Carer's Allowance, the Carer's Support Grant and Carer's Benefit in Ireland for 2026: rates, the new means test disregards, the 35-hour rule, DCA, and…
Care homes
The Fair Deal nursing home loan (ancillary state support) explainedHow the Fair Deal nursing home loan works: the 7.5% charge, the 22.5% cap, CPI, the new 18-month repayment deadline, deferral for family, and…
Elderly Care
HSE Home Support Service: who qualifies and how to apply (2026)How the free HSE Home Support Service works in 2026: who qualifies, how to apply and appeal, waiting lists, the new providers Act, and…
Cost & Funding
Enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland: how it works, costsHow to make and register an Enduring Power of Attorney in Northern Ireland, what it costs, what it cannot do, and the controllership alternative.
Care homes
Care home top-ups in Northern Ireland: who pays and the regional rateWho can pay a care home top-up in Northern Ireland, how the Trust's regional rate sets the amount, and what happens if fees rise…
Cost & Funding
Continuing healthcare in Northern Ireland: the 2021 test explainedNorthern Ireland's single-question continuing healthcare test, who decides, what happens after discharge and how to challenge a decision.
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