Requesting and organising care assistance at home

Understand the process involved to organise care support at home, from the initial enquiry, through the care needs assessment, care options, how to manage and pay for your care and the possible charges involved.

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Social care service charges

East Lothian Council provides and arranges care services for a wide range of people in the county.  It is important for us to make these charges as the income helps us ensure we can provide high quality support.

Many of these services are free but in some cases we ask people who use services to make a contribution towards the cost of those services.

The amount of contribution you will have to make will depend on your financial circumstances.

Services for which we may charge

  • Home meal services and lunch clubs
  • Night-time and sleepover services
  • Community Alarm Telecare Service
  • Attendance at day centres or other community based support sessions 
  • Arranging personal transport
  • Respite care
  • Housing adaptations.

Setting service charges

  • We never charge more for a service than it costs us to deliver that service
  • In most cases, the charges we raise are much less than the cost of the service.

When setting the charge, we consider an individual's ability to pay, the maximum charge that can be applied, cost-effectiveness to deliver the service, equity, transparency, compliance with national guidance and discretion for exceptional circumstances.

Flat-rate charges

Some services are charged at a flat rate, which means that everyone pays the same amount for the service. It does not matter how much income or savings you have, the charge remains the same. 

The following services are charged at a flat rate:

  • Meals at Home: where meals are brought to your home or provided at a lunch club. A standard charge applies for each meal you receive. This charge is set by the supplier, not East Lothian Council.
  • Community Alarm Service: a weekly standard charge applies to have the Community Alarm service in place at your home. This is paid every six month in arrears in October and April.
    • Charge is £5.80 per week (with effect from 1 April 2026)
  • Transport: a standard rate applies to transport services to destinations other than day centres and resources centres.
    • Charge is £15 per week.

Means-tested charges

Charges for some services are means-tested, which means the amount you have to pay will depend on both:

  • how much of the service you use, and
  • how much income and savings you have.

Individuals who have income or savings over £16,000 will have to pay the full standard charge for services.

If this does not apply to you, a financial assessment will be carried out to identify how much you will be asked to contribute to a service. In some cases, services will be delivered free of charge.

The following services are based on a means-tested charging assessment:

  • Care or support at home (excluding personal care) 
    • Standard rate is £18.79 per hour (as of 1 April 2026)
    • The actual charge will depend on the outcome of the financial assessment.
       
  • Attendance at Day Centre and/or other community support sessions (without transport)
    • Standard rate per 3 hour session is £2.62 per person (a full day is two sessions) (as of 1 April 2026)
    • The actual charge will depend on the outcome of the financial assessment.

Disability related expenditure

Disability related expenditure (DRE) refers to costs you incur due to a disability or long-term health condition, which may be considered when assessing how much you can contribute to your care. DRE is different from typical daily living costs and reflects spending that others without your condition may not have.

Disability related expenditure costs usually fall into one of these two categories:

  1. Specialised items and services: you may use things that are made especially to help with your disability, such as wheelchairs and care support. These items may have additional costs, like repair and insurance.
  2. Increased use of non-specialised items and services: you may have to use things more because of your disability, such as transport or heating.

Financial assessment for means-tested charges

For any services recommended to you that have means-tested service charges, we will carry out a financial assessment.  

You will be asked to complete a financial assessment form, which requests information relating to your:

  • income (and your partner / spouse's income, if the service is shared)
  • pensions and benefits
  • savings and capital (for example, shares, property).

You also need to provide paperwork to support the information that you have given. For example, we will need to see copies of current bank statements, savings accounts etc.

Please note that the sooner we get this information, the quicker we can work out how much you will have to pay.

Confirming your contribution charge

After completing the financial assessment, we will send you a letter explaining how much you have to pay each week for your social care services. We normally issue a bill for services, which needs to be paid every four weeks.

Means-tested charges are reviewed each year to check they remain accurate. You should let us know about any significant changes in your income or savings during the year.

If you don't wish to disclose your financial details, you will have to pay the full charge for the service.

Who to contact

If you have questions about the social care services available to you:

Contact the Adult Social Work Services Team:

T: 01875 824309   E: communitycare@eastlothian.gov.uk 

If you have questions about the financial assessment process or paying for social care services: 

Contact the Financial Assessment Team:

T: 01620 827901  E: awfinancialassess@eastlothian.gov.uk

 

Further information and documentation