How Care Funding Differs Across the UK (2026)

Care is funded differently in each of the four UK nations — sometimes dramatically so. Where your relative lives can change what's free, what's means-tested and how much they'll pay. Here's a plain-English comparison.

Social care is a "devolved" matter, which means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each set their own rules. The biggest differences are around personal care (help with washing, dressing and eating) and the savings limits that decide who pays. Figures change every April, so treat the numbers below as a 2025/26 guide and confirm the current ones on your nation's official site.

The starting point: means-testing

In most of the UK, whether the council helps with care-home fees depends on a means test of income and capital (savings, investments, and often the value of a home). Above an upper limit you pay in full; below a lower limit your capital is ignored; in between you contribute on a sliding scale. Our guides to the means test and applying for council funding explain the mechanics — this guide is about how the rules differ by nation.

The four nations at a glance

England

Care is means-tested. If capital is above £23,250 you self-fund; below £14,250 your capital is disregarded (though income still counts); in between you pay a tariff. The value of your home is usually counted for a permanent care-home stay, unless a partner or certain other relatives still live there. The NHS may fully fund care through Continuing Healthcare where needs are primarily health-related. Long-promised reforms to introduce a lifetime "care cap" have been shelved.

Scotland

Scotland is the outlier: personal care is free for everyone assessed as needing it, regardless of savings, with a separate free contribution towards nursing care. These are paid as set weekly amounts. You still pay for accommodation and living costs in a care home, and those are means-tested — but Scotland's capital limits are more generous (around £35,000 upper and £21,500 lower). It's administered as the "Free Personal and Nursing Care" payments.

Wales

Wales uses a single, higher capital limit for care-home fees: if you have more than about £50,000 you self-fund; below it, you're means-tested with no separate lower threshold. Wales also caps what councils can charge for non-residential (home) care at a set weekly maximum — a meaningful protection for people supported at home.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's residential means test mirrors England's limits (£23,250 / £14,250). Its big difference is domiciliary (home) care, which is generally provided free of charge, and it offers a free nursing-care contribution for those in nursing homes.

What this means in practice

• Use the rules and figures for the nation where the person lives, not where you live.
• Always ask for a needs assessment and a financial assessment — free help you're entitled to everywhere.
• Don't assume you're "too wealthy" to get anything: free personal care (Scotland), the NHS nursing contribution, and Continuing Healthcare aren't means-tested.
• Get independent advice before moving money or a home to "protect" it — deliberate deprivation of assets rules apply UK-wide.