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
- Retirement living · 22
- Cost & Funding · 146
- Regulation & Quality · 62
- Reablement · 16
- Alzheimer's & Dementia · 50
- Care homes · 124
- Overnight Care · 11
- London · 99
- End-of-Life & Palliative · 28
- Live-in Care · 15
- Respite for Carers · 16
- Carer Support · 48
- Elderly Care · 99
Care homes
Convalescent care: short care home stays to recover after hospitalConvalescent care is a short stay, usually in a care home, to recover after a hospital stay, an operation, a fall or an illness.…
Care homes
Paying for care in Northern Ireland 2026/27: home care and care homesHow care is paid for in Northern Ireland in 2026/27: free home care, care home capital limits, the £36.62 allowance, the £100 nursing contribution,…
Care homes
Paying for care in Wales 2026/27: the £50,000 limit and £100 capHow care is paid for in Wales in 2026/27: the £50,000 care home capital limit, no tariff income, the £46.35 Minimum Income Amount and…
Care homes
Paying for care in Scotland 2026/27: free care and capital limitsIn Scotland personal and nursing care are free for anyone assessed as needing them, but care home residents with over £36,750 in capital still…
Care homes
The 12-week property disregard explained (2026/27)The value of a home is ignored for the first 12 weeks of a permanent care home stay. Who it applies to, what happens…
Care homes
Care home fees by county (2026): costs, ratings and council ratesCare homes cost self-funders about £1,095 to £1,456 a week in England in 2026, depending on the region. Fees, CQC ratings and council rates…
Cost & Funding
Overnight care costs by city (2026): sleeping and waking nightsOvernight care costs about £219 a night in England (October 2026). Waking night costs for 22 cities, sleeping vs waking nights, and ways to…
Cost & Funding
What councils pay for care in 2025/26: all 152 councilsCouncils paid an average of £25.05 an hour for home care and £956 a week for care homes in 2025/26. See what all 152…
Cost & Funding
Attendance Allowance rates 2026/27: £114.60 and £76.70 a weekAttendance Allowance is £114.60 a week (higher) and £76.70 (lower) in 2026/27. Every rate since 2021/22, who qualifies, and how it affects care costs.
Cost & Funding
Live-in care costs by city (2026): what live-in care costs near youLive-in care costs about £1,450 a week in England (October 2026). Typical prices for Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and 18 other cities, with council…
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