direct payment rates and home care charges 2026/27
Case reference FOI2026/02251
Received 21 September 2026
Published 12 October 2026
Request
It concerns adult social care. Please answer for the 2026/27 financial year.
Direct payments
1. The standard hourly rate provided through a direct payment for an adult to employ a personal assistant. Please give both figures where they differ:
(a) the total hourly amount paid into the direct payment account, and
(b) the hourly wage the personal assistant is expected to be paid.
2. The standard hourly rate provided through a direct payment for an adult to buy support from a self-employed personal assistant or carer.
3. The standard hourly rate provided through a direct payment for an adult to buy care from a home care agency.
4. The date from which these rates apply, and the date they were last increased. Where different standard rates apply to different groups of adults, please give the rates for an adult receiving personal care at home, and say briefly how the other groups differ.
Charges for care at home
For a single adult over State Pension age who receives care and support at home and is financially assessed:
5. The weekly amount of income the council leaves the person before it charges anything (the Minimum Income Guarantee, or its equivalent).
6. The percentage of income above that amount which the council takes as a contribution (for example 100% or 90%).
7. The standard weekly allowance for disability-related expenditure that the council gives without asking for receipts, if it has one.
8. Any maximum weekly charge for care at home.
9. For an adult who pays the full cost of home care that the council arranges: the hourly rate they are charged, and any arrangement or administration fee, with its amount and how often it is charged.
Response
It concerns adult social care. Please answer for the 2026/27 financial year.
Direct payments
1. The standard hourly rate provided through a direct payment for an adult to employ a personal assistant. Please give both figures where they differ: (a) the total hourly amount paid into the direct payment account, and (b) the hourly wage the personal assistant is expected to be paid.
Answer: The service area has advised that the standard rate is £14.76 paid into the direct payment account, to provide an hourly wage of £12.71. Please note that the gross figure only includes funding for the hourly rate, paid leave and employer pension contributions, other employment costs such as insurance, DBS checks and support are funded separately. If employer NI is expected to exceed the employment allowance, additional funding is provided to cover this. Herefordshire Council also offers a rural rate which is up to a maximum of £16.97/£14.61 per hour.
2. The standard hourly rate provided through a direct payment for an adult to buy support from a self-employed personal assistant or carer.
Answer: The service area has that advised PA rates are detailed above, if someone chooses to engage a self-employed provider, they are not required to fund any employment costs and can therefore use the gross budget available to them.
3. The standard hourly rate provided through a direct payment for an adult to buy care from a home care agency.
Answer:
Urban: £26.04,
Rural £29.92
4. The date from which these rates apply, and the date they were last increased.
Answer: Direct payment rates were introduced on 06/04/2026, and have not yet been increased.
Where different standard rates apply to different groups of adults, please give the rates for an adult receiving personal care at home, and say briefly how the other groups differ.
Answer: N/A.
Charges for care at home
For a single adult over State Pension age who receives care and support at home and is financially assessed:
5. The weekly amount of income the council leaves the person before it charges anything (the Minimum Income Guarantee, or its equivalent).
Answer: The Minimum Income Guarantee for a single adult over State Pension age is £297.50 per week.
6. The percentage of income above that amount which the council takes as a contribution (for example 100% or 90%).
Answer: 100% of income above the Minimum Income Guarantee is taken into account, excluding disregarded income such as DLA mobility and PIP mobility.
7. The standard weekly allowance for disability-related expenditure that the council gives without asking for receipts, if it has one.
Answer: There is no standard weekly allowance for disability-related expenditure that is given without receipts.
8. Any maximum weekly charge for care at home.
Answer: The maximum weekly charge is the person’s assessed client contribution. If the assessed contribution is higher than the weekly cost of the care package, the charge is limited to the actual cost of care provided.
9. For an adult who pays the full cost of home care that the council arranges: the hourly rate they are charged, and any arrangement or administration fee, with its amount and how often it is charged.
Answer: Adults who pay the full cost of council-arranged home care are charged £26.04 per hour. Where the adult has confirmed capital above the upper capital limit, a one-off arrangement fee of £399 applies. An administration fee of £15.00 is also charged each time an invoice is raised as part of the 4-weekly billing cycle.
Documents
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