Maybe — it depends on a means test. In England the council looks at the income and capital of the person needing care, and only helps once their savings fall below a set level. This guide is the map, not a decision — confirm every current figure with your local council’s adult social care team or Age UK.
How the means test works in England
The council assesses capital (savings, investments and usually property) against two thresholds — an upper limit above which you pay the full fees yourself, and a lower limit below which your capital is ignored and you contribute mainly from income. Between the two you pay a ‘tariff income’, a sliding contribution. The long-standing figures have been around £23,250 (upper) and £14,250 (lower), but these have been subject to repeated reform announcements — check the current thresholds with your council before you plan around them.
Does the house count?
The value of the person’s home is usually counted as capital — unless a spouse, partner or a qualifying relative (for example someone over 60 or disabled) still lives there, in which case it is disregarded. There is also a 12-week property disregard at the start of a permanent stay, and a deferred payment agreement that lets the council pay now and recover the money from the property later, so it need not be sold in a hurry.
NHS Continuing Healthcare: fully funded care
Separately from the means test, if the person has a primary health need their care may be fully funded by the NHS through Continuing Healthcare (CHC) — this is not means-tested and covers the whole fee, including accommodation. Many families never ask to be assessed. If health needs are significant, request a CHC checklist assessment; it is one of the few routes to full funding.
If it’s urgent and the assessment isn’t done
A financial assessment takes time; a hospital discharge or a crisis does not. Do both at once: ask the council for an urgent needs assessment and start the search now, using a self-funded place as a bridge if needed. Keep every invoice — where the council later accepts responsibility, support can sometimes be backdated. Ask the hospital’s discharge team to help.
Mistakes that cost money
The three most common: giving away savings or property to get under the threshold (councils treat this as deliberate deprivation of assets and count it anyway); not claiming Attendance Allowance or asking for an NHS CHC assessment; and comparing homes on the headline weekly fee alone, without checking what the council will actually pay towards a place. A tidy file, with up-to-date financial and care records, always moves faster.
If the blockage is the paperwork — the means test, the property disregard, CHC or the council’s contribution — or you simply don’t know which homes to ring first, Curalune Care Help prepares an ordered shortlist of 3–5 suitable care homes in your area, with contacts, useful links and a ready-to-send enquiry. It helps you organise the search; it does not replace the council’s assessment or guarantee a place, price or vacancy.
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