If your needs meet your council’s eligibility threshold, your local council can fund some or all of your home care. In Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire that involves a free needs assessment, a separate financial assessment, and a personal care plan. Helping at Home accepts clients funded through direct payments, council-arranged packages, and self-funding, and can talk you through how each route works.
Two assessments, in this order
When families call us after their first conversation with a council, they often have the two assessments muddled together. They are separate and they happen in a fixed order.
1. The needs assessment. Every adult in England has a legal right to a free assessment of their care and support needs under the Care Act 2014, regardless of income or savings. A social worker or assessor from your council looks at what you can manage day to day. Washing, dressing, preparing meals, taking medication, getting around the home, staying connected to people. The threshold for eligibility is set nationally and is based on the impact on your wellbeing.
2. The financial assessment. If the council agrees your needs are eligible, a financial assessment then looks at your savings, income and assets to work out how much you contribute towards the cost of meeting those needs. Many people who are eligible on needs grounds are still asked to pay something. Some pay the full cost.
You don’t have to wait for the council. You can arrange care privately at any time, and many families do this while a council assessment is in progress.
How the capital thresholds work
For 2026 to 2027, the Department of Health and Social Care has kept the capital limits at the levels set in 2010. This is the 16th consecutive year the thresholds have been frozen, so more families are reaching them than would have been the case if they’d been uprated for inflation.
| Capital position | What it usually means for home care |
|---|---|
| Above £23,250 | You pay the full cost of your care from your assets |
| Between £14,250 and £23,250 | You contribute a tariff from capital (£1 per week for every £250 between the two limits), plus an income-based contribution |
| Below £14,250 | You pay only what you can afford from your income |
For home care, the value of your home is not usually counted. It only enters the calculation in specific care home scenarios.
The local rate gap
This is the part of council funding most families aren’t told about until they’re already in the process.
Local authority direct payment rates in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire are typically £18 to £25 per hour. Helping at Home’s standard hourly rate is £31. The gap exists because councils negotiate lower rates as bulk purchasers, and because providers who only accept council-rate clients usually run a different model on continuity, training pay and travel time.
If you want a specific provider whose rate sits above the council’s rate, you can top up the difference privately. Many families do, particularly when they want the same small team of familiar carers, training certificates that stay with the carer, and the comms standards a Birdie-based provider gives them.
Helping at Home accepts clients on council rates as part of a topped-up arrangement. The page on direct payments explains the mechanics.
Direct payment, or council-arranged?
If you’re eligible for funding, you have a choice.
Council-arranged. The council contracts with a provider from its approved list, manages the relationship, and you pay your contribution to the council. Less admin for you. Less choice over who comes through your door.
Direct payment. The council pays your assessed amount into a separate account (managed by you, a representative, or sometimes a payroll service). You use it to pay a provider you choose. More admin, more control. You can use a direct payment to pay Helping at Home directly.
Most families we support through council funding use a direct payment because it lets them pick the provider, set the visit times, and adjust as needs change. Your social worker can help you set one up. Nottinghamshire County Council publishes guidance on direct payments, and Lincolnshire has equivalent information on its adult care pages.
If you’re in Newark, Bingham, Ollerton, Southwell or surrounding villages
Nottinghamshire County Council assesses and funds care for people living in Newark and Sherwood, Rushcliffe and Bassetlaw. To start, you contact the Customer Services Centre or apply for an assessment online. The council aims to respond within set timeframes, but families regularly tell us the process takes longer than they expected, especially the financial assessment.
If you’re in Grantham, Long Bennington or Bottesford
Most of Grantham sits in South Kesteven, which is covered by Lincolnshire County Council. Bottesford is in Leicestershire, which uses a different council (Leicestershire County Council) and its own rates. If your family member’s address sits across an authority boundary, your assessment is carried out by the council where they live, not where their family lives.
We work routinely across all three councils. We can tell you who to call first if you’re not sure which one applies.
What happens if the council says you’re not eligible
You can still arrange care. Many of our clients are self-funders who didn’t meet the council’s eligibility threshold but still needed regular help. Self-funded care gives you full choice over the provider, the carers, and the visit pattern.
You can also reapply for a council assessment at any point if needs change. A hospital stay, a fall, or a change in your family member’s condition can all trigger a fresh look.
What happens next
If you’d like to talk through council funding before you commit to anything, call us on 01636 646915. We can explain how the assessment process works, whether a direct payment makes sense for your situation, and how Helping at Home would fit alongside it. There is no charge for the conversation and no obligation to start care.
If you’ve already been assessed and have a direct payment in place, our office team can show you how to use it to start care with us.
