How much you pay towards your care costs depends on whether you are getting care and support in a care home or your own home. 

The decision on how much you pay will be based on a financial assessment.

Following a care assessment we will work with you to draw up and agree a support plan for your care needs. This will include the amount of money the council allocates for your care, called a personal budget.

Your options

There are a number of options for how you take your care:

1. Paying for care in your own home

  • You can choose for Herefordshire Council to arrange your care
  • You can take your personal budget as a direct payment and make the arrangements yourself
  • You can use a combination of the above with a social care worker organising some part of the support you need and you taking direct payments and arranging for other parts of your support yourself

See the section on paying for care and support at home for further information.

2. Paying for a care home

  • Herefordshire Council will arrange your care with your chosen residential care home or nursing care home provider
  • If you choose to stay in a care home that costs more than the council would normally pay, a friend or family member can make up the difference in price. This is known as a third party or top up contribution
  • You can arrange the care and fund it yourself, if you don't need financial support from the council. We call this a self funder

See the section on paying for care in a residential or nursing home for further information.

You can get information about options for funding your care from not-for-profit websites such as Paying for Care and Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA). See also our section on independent financial advice.