What is the cost of receiving adult social care?
In 2018/19, the average cost of a local authority-funded care home place for someone aged over 65 was £636 a week. For working-age adults, the cost was £1,320 a week. In 2018/19, local authorities, on average, paid £16.86 an hour to commission externally provided home care services.
There are no precise figures on spending for people who fund their own care, though the Competition and Markets Authority estimated that care home fees paid by ‘self-funders’ are, on average, 41 per cent higher than those paid by local authorities for places in the same care homes.
How much does social care cost and how many people will have to spend over £100,000?
The lifetime costs of adult social care for older people varies considerably according to the level of their need. In 2010 the Dilnot Commission estimated 50 per cent of people aged 65 and over will spend up to £20,000 on care costs and that 10 per cent would face costs of over £100,000. However, it is very difficult to predict which individuals will have the greatest needs (for example, those who will develop dementia) so costs are very hard to prepare for.
How much do individuals spend on social care?
The National Audit Office has estimated that in 2016/17 people spent £10.9 billion on privately purchased social care.
Many people who receive publicly funded social care are also expected to contribute towards it from their income. In 2018/19 a total of £2.9 billion was spent on these fees and charges. This figure has risen in each of the past four years.
