Social care charges

In this section:

Depending on your personal circumstances, you may need to pay the full cost or make a financial contribution to the cost of your care.

Financial assessment

You will have a Care Act or carer’s assessment to see what help is required and a personal budget if you need to pay for social care services.

Social care services are chargeable. The amount you can afford to contribute to your personal budget is worked out through a financial assessment.

The financial assessment will look at your income, savings and any benefits you receive. It will also look at any disability-related expenditure, which is costs you may incur relating directly to your disability, and your housing costs.

Depending on the outcome of the financial assessment you may have to contribute an amount to or pay the full cost of your care.

To find out how much you may be expected to contribute towards your care, please complete our online contribution calculator.

If you have savings of more than £23,250, or you do not want to have a financial assessment, you will have to pay the full cost of your care.

Charges for care

The amount you pay for services such as transport or day services will depend on your financial assessment.

Top up payments

If you have decided to move into a residential home or a nursing home which is more expensive than the cost agreed by Solihull Council, you may be able to top up the difference yourself or with the help of a third party.

A third party means somebody else which is not you or the Council. This means that you can get help from members of your family, friends or charities.

To use third party top up payments the person or organisation contributing to your care will need to have a contract to formalise the agreement with Solihull Council.

You can read more by downloading our Choice of Accommodation and Top-ups information leaflet.

Deferred payments

A deferred payment scheme can be useful if you have savings less than £23,250 and all your money is tied up in your property.

Under this scheme the council pays for your care home fees and it is repaid later when your home is sold.

You may be entitled to deferred payments if you:

  • have savings (excluding your property) of less than the upper capital limit (£23,250)
  • are assessed as requiring and are moving permanently to a Care Quality Commission registered residential or nursing care home
  • own or have part legal ownership of a property, the value of which is taken into account, and your property is registered with the Land Registry

If you are entitled to a deferred payment, Solihull Council will put a legal charge on your home. This is like a mortgage and ensures the right value of proceeds from the sale of your home go to the council after it is sold.

In principle, you should be able to defer all of your care costs:

  • including any top up payment
  • minus any contribution you make
  • if acceptable, security for the deferred payment agreement being obtained

The total amount that can be deferred will be governed by an equity limit of 90 per cent of the total value of your home.

The value of your home will be based on a valuation obtained by Solihull Council less:

  • the lower capital limit, this is currently £14,250
  • any other charges against the property, such as a mortgage

By entering into a Deferred Payment Agreement you are entering a legally binding contract with Solihull Council.

You should receive financial advice from an independent financial adviser (IFA) before deciding to defer payments.

You can contact The Solihull Community Advice Hubs for support. The Advice Hubs are based in Solihull and Chelmsley Wood Libraries and are the first point of contact for information, advice and support in Solihull for residents of all ages, and their carers:

Contact us to find out if you're eligible for a deferred payment scheme: