Home help for the elderly: cleaning, shopping and meals

Home help for elderly people covers the everyday jobs that keep a home running: cleaning, laundry, shopping, preparing meals and collecting prescriptions. It sits below personal care, and for many people it’s the only help they’ll ever need. You can arrange it privately through a home care agency, or ask your council for a needs assessment if it’s part of a wider care need. As of 2026, agency home help usually costs the standard hourly care rate, about £32–£34 an hour across England.

Local guides: London (hourly care costs).

At a glance

• Home help means practical, domestic support. It does not include hands-on personal care such as washing or dressing.
• Purely domestic help is not a CQC-regulated activity, but agencies that also provide personal care must be CQC-registered.
• As of 2026, visiting care in England typically costs about £32–£34 an hour, varying by region; always get a written quote.
• Your council must assess anyone who appears to need care and support, including help keeping a home habitable (Care Act 2014).
• Attendance Allowance (£76.70 or £114.60 a week in 2026/27) is not means-tested and can be spent on home help.

What does home help for the elderly include?

Home help is support with the running of a home and daily life rather than with the body. It suits people who can wash and dress themselves but struggle with heavier or more tiring tasks.

Typical tasks include:

• Cleaning: hoovering, dusting, kitchens and bathrooms, changing beds, tidying.
• Laundry: washing, drying, ironing and putting clothes away.
• Shopping: a weekly shop, help writing a list, online shopping, or going to the shops together.
• Meals: cooking fresh meals, batch cooking, heating ready meals and checking the fridge for out-of-date food.
• Errands: collecting prescriptions, posting letters, the bank, the library, dry cleaning.
• Paperwork: opening and sorting post, helping with forms, chasing a utility company, setting up a direct debit.
• Technology: getting the television box working again, setting up video calls.
• Small practical jobs: bulbs, batteries, bins, reaching high cupboards, watering plants.
• Getting out: a lift to an appointment, the shops or a group.
• Pets: feeding, walking, vet trips.

Many families find that a carer who does the shopping and cooks lunch also becomes a friendly face that the person looks forward to.

Home help, domestic care and companionship

These overlap heavily and providers use the labels inconsistently. In practice:

Don’t get stuck on the label. Describe what’s actually difficult — “she can’t manage the shopping and the post is piling up” — and let the provider tell you what they call it.

What home help does not usually cover

Home help is not personal care, medication administration or anything clinical. If your parent needs help washing, dressing, using the toilet or taking medicines, that is personal care and must come from a CQC-registered provider (CQC). Our guide to home help vs home care explains where the line falls.

Heavy jobs such as deep-cleaning a hoarded home, gardening, window cleaning or DIY usually need a specialist service, not a care worker. Many councils run handyperson schemes for small jobs and safety work.

Who home help suits

• Someone recently widowed who never handled the bills, the car or the cooking
• Someone who has given up driving and lost access to shops and appointments
• Someone recovering from illness or surgery who’ll manage again in a few weeks
• Someone with arthritis or reduced strength who can do most things but not the heavy ones
• Someone whose family lives far away and can’t do the practical Saturday jobs
• Anyone whose house is slipping while their health is still reasonably good

Home help is often the first help families successfully introduce, because it doesn’t feel like care. Our article on talking to a parent about accepting help covers why that framing matters.

How much does home help cost?

As of 2026, visiting home care in England typically costs about £32–£34 an hour on weekdays; the Lottie Care Index for Q3 2026 puts the median at £33.49, and many agencies charge £26–£38. Prices vary by region: in London most agencies charge £30–£40, typically £32–£35 (Lottie; London provider price lists, 2026). Agencies usually charge the same hourly rate for domestic tasks as for personal care, because the same trained, vetted staff do the work. Most people book two to four hours a week.

Prices depend on needs, provider and postcode, so get a written quote showing weekend and bank-holiday rates. To estimate a weekly bill, use our home care cost calculator.

Agency, cleaner or introductory service?

A cleaner from a cleaning company will often cost less per hour, but won’t be trained in supporting older people, spotting signs of illness or noticing that someone is not eating. A care agency’s home help worker is vetted, supervised and can step up to personal care later if needs change.

Introductory agencies that connect you with self-employed carers can be cheaper, but you take on more responsibility.

Can the council provide home help?

Most councils no longer run a stand-alone “home help” service in the way many did decades ago. Instead, domestic help can be part of a care and support plan after a Care Act needs assessment. Councils rarely fund practical help alone, but the wider picture often qualifies even when housework by itself doesn’t — so an assessment is still worth having.

Under the Care Act 2014, the council must assess anyone who appears to need care and support, whatever their finances. You are eligible if, because of an illness or impairment, you cannot achieve two or more of a set list of outcomes, and this significantly affects your wellbeing. Two of those outcomes are directly about home help:

• managing and maintaining nutrition (shopping, cooking, eating);
• maintaining a habitable home environment (keeping the home clean and safe enough to live in).

If you meet the test, the council must arrange support to meet those needs, though you may have to pay towards it after a financial assessment. See our guide to the home care means test for how charging works.

How to ask for an assessment

Contact the adult social care team at the council where the person lives. In areas with both a county and a district council, adult social care sits with the county; in London, each borough runs its own. You, your parent, a GP or a hospital can make the request. Our guide to preparing for a needs assessment explains what to expect.

The council may offer a direct payment so you can choose who provides the help.

Do I pay VAT on home help?

Not usually, if a CQC-registered agency provides it. HMRC treats routine domestic tasks such as housework, shopping and collecting prescriptions as exempt welfare services when an assessment shows the person cannot safely do them, and the provider is state-regulated (HMRC VAT Notice 701/2).

A general cleaning company is not a welfare provider, so VAT may apply if it is VAT-registered.

Which benefits and schemes can help pay for home help?

• Attendance Allowance: £76.70 a week (lower rate) or £114.60 (higher rate) from April 2026, for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision (DWP, 2026/27). It is not means-tested and you can spend it however you like, including on home help. See using Attendance Allowance to pay for home care.
• PIP daily living: the same weekly amounts for people under State Pension age.
• Pension Credit: if your parent gets Attendance Allowance and lives alone, they may qualify for an extra severe disability amount in Pension Credit (£86.05 a week in 2026/27, DWP).
• Age UK and local charity schemes: many areas have low-cost home help run by Age UK or local charities.

For the full picture, see our home care funding page.

How do I arrange home help for an elderly parent?

1. List the tasks. Walk through a normal week and note what your parent struggles with. Our care needs checklist can help.
2. Decide on hours. Many people start with one or two visits a week for cleaning and shopping, plus shorter visits for meals.
3. Check eligibility for council help if needs are growing, or if money is tight.
4. Get written quotes from two or three providers, including minimum visit lengths and weekend rates.
5. Check the provider. If the agency also offers personal care, look up its CQC rating.
6. Agree a routine. Keep the same carer where possible — they learn the house, the routine and what “normal” looks like — and share preferences such as favourite shops or meals.

Getting the most from it

• Start with what’s most annoying to them, not what worries you most. Buy-in matters more than logic in the first month.
• One longer visit rather than several short ones, where the tasks allow.
• Agree the money rules up front — receipts for everything, no cards, no PINs.
• Review after a month. Needs change, and so should the hours, in either direction.

When is home help not enough?

Watch for signs that your parent needs more than domestic help: missed meals, weight loss, falls, unwashed clothes or confusion about medicines. These can point to a need for personal care.

If you are worried about someone’s immediate health, call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency.

Frequently asked questions

What is home help for the elderly?

Practical support with running a home and daily life: cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking, errands, paperwork and small household jobs. It does not include hands-on personal care like washing or dressing. You can arrange it privately through an agency or, if you have eligible needs, through a council care and support plan.

What’s the difference between home help and home care?

Home help is practical support around the house; purely domestic help is not CQC-regulated. Home care usually implies personal care — hands-on help or prompting with washing, dressing and medication — which must come from a CQC-registered provider. Many providers offer both.

How much does a home help cost per hour?

As of 2026, agencies in England typically charge about £32–£34 an hour for weekday visits, varying by region. Weekends usually cost 10–25% more, bank holidays often time-and-a-half, and 30-minute visits more per hour. Most people book two to four hours a week.

Can I get free home help from the council?

Home help is not automatically free, and councils rarely fund practical help alone. Your council must assess needs, and if you qualify it arranges support, but you may pay towards it after a financial assessment. In England, people with capital over £23,250 usually pay in full. The first six weeks of reablement after illness or a hospital stay are free.

Can I use Attendance Allowance to pay for home help?

Yes. Attendance Allowance is not means-tested and there are no rules on how it is spent. Many families use it towards cleaning, shopping or meal preparation visits. From April 2026 it is £76.70 or £114.60 a week, depending on the level of help needed during the day and night.

Can home help lead to more support later?

Yes. Starting with a CQC-registered agency means personal care, overnight or live-in support can be added later without introducing a new organisation to someone who’s just got used to one.

Sources

• Care and support statutory guidance (GOV.UK)
• Care Act eligibility outcomes (SCIE)
• CQC: scope of registration, personal care
• HMRC VAT Notice 701/2: welfare services and goods (GOV.UK)
• DWP benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK)
• DHSC social care charging circular 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK)
• Age UK Factsheet 34: Attendance Allowance, May 2026
• Lottie: care at home costs (London directory)
• Homecare Association research and reports

The Care Panel is an independent publication. We are not a care provider and are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission, because we do not deliver care. Always check a provider’s own CQC registration and inspection report before you commit.

Written and fact-checked by The Care Panel. This guide is general information, not financial, legal or medical advice. Last updated September 2026.

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 15 October 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.