Introduction to care and support

This guide is for people who have care and support needs, their carers, and people who are planning their future care needs.

What is social care and support?

They're services to help you if you:

need practical support because of illness or disability
care for someone receiving social care and support

Social care and support is usually paid for by:

people who need services and their families
by the local council's social services department

Types of social care and support include:

help at home from a paid carer
meals on wheels
having your home adapted
equipment and household gadgets
personal alarms and home security systems so you can call for help (for instance, if you have a fall)
different types of housing, such as sheltered housing and care homes

Find out more about the different types of social care and support

Telephone help

If you want advice or help by speaking to someone over the phone, you'll find lots of helpful numbers and links in our section on telephone helplines and forums.

Getting access to social care and support

You can arrange care and support privately yourself.

If you want the council to arrange or pay towards your care you have to request a needs assessment.

The needs assessment tells you what type of care will help you and how it'll be delivered to you.

If you have a carer, they can also have a carer's assessment.

Paying for social care and support

Paying for care and support can be confusing and a worry.

For clear advice on how much care and support costs, and where you can get help with the costs, read our section on money and benefits.

As a general rule, if you have less than £23,250 in savings, your care will be paid for partly or in full by the council. This does not include the value of your property unless you're moving into a care home.

If you have more than £23,250 in savings, you'll be expected to pay for your care yourself.

Some services are free for everybody. They're not means-tested.

Read about care and support you can get for free.

Help for carers

If you're a carer, you'll find lots of information to help you in support and benefits for carers and caring for children and young people.

You probably are a carer if you're looking after someone regularly (including your spouse or a family member) because they're ill or disabled.

NHS care

In some situations, social care and support is provided by the NHS instead of your local council. In these instances it's free. It's not means-tested.

It includes:

up to 6 weeks of care after leaving hospital, known as reablement (this service can also be provided by local councils)
care if you have complex and serious health conditions (NHS continuing healthcare)

Page last reviewed: Wed Aug 2018 Next review due: Sun Aug 2021