The Council is considering making a number of changes to its policy on charging for care and support services for adults such as home care, care and support for people in independent supported living schemes, enabling services, and day services.  These changes would not affect charges for living in a care home.

The changes would be made from April 2027.  All of the proposed changes would mean that many people would have to pay more for their care and support services, although they would affect different people in different ways.  Some people would continue to get services without being charged, though there might also be some people who would be asked to pay a weekly charge for the first time.

It will help us to analyse responses to this consultation if you can use this online response form to tell us your views.

Please note that the closing date for this consultation is 14 October 2026.

Why is the Council considering these changes?

The Council expects to have to reduce its budget by nearly £35 million over the two years from April 2027 to close the gap between the funding allocated to the Council by the Government and the growing costs of social care and other services.  There is no easy way to do that.

The Council has made a provisional list of how it can achieve this.  This list includes reducing the gap by £450,000 a year by changing the charging policy for adult social care.

Social care services for adults account for about 30% of the Council’s budget, so it would be very difficult for the Council to make savings of the level required without some reductions in spending on adult social care.

However, if you feel that the Council should be making savings in other ways, please let us know.  You can see the Council's provisional plans for making savings during the next two years elsewhere on our website[1].

The plans for savings also include making savings in other parts of the budget for adult social care.

Has the Council already decided what changes it is going to make?

No.  There are a number of ways in which the Council could increase charges to achieve the proposed saving, which are explained in this consultation document.  The Council may change its proposals after considering what people tell it during this consultation.

The Council could also decide that there is no acceptable way to change charging policies to reduce its budget by as much as the estimate of £450,000 in its financial plan.  But at present we don't think that will be possible without making even more savings than we are already planning in other Council budgets.

How are charges for social care worked out?

There are national rules[2] about social care charging.  Councils don't have to charge people for adult social care services unless they are in a care home.  But only one council in England has decided it can afford not to make charges for these services.  In Northumberland the council expects charges for non-residential care to contribute £12.5m towards the cost of maintaining adult social care services during the current financial year.

Councils must carry out a financial assessment of each person who may be liable to pay charges, to decide the maximum weekly charge they may have to pay.  If the actual cost of the person's services is less than that maximum charge, they will pay only what their services cost.

The national rules specify the minimum income guaranteed amount that a person must be left with after paying charges.  The rules also say what income can be taken into account in the financial assessment.  But if the person has savings or other capital above a capital limit (which is set nationally), the council can charge them the full cost of their services, and that is what we do in Northumberland.  The value of the person's own home is not taken into account in the calculation unless they are moving into a care home, though the value of any other property that they own will be.  The capital limit is currently £23,250.

However much money a person has, the council has a duty to offer to arrange the services they need (except for care home accommodation), though some people may prefer to make private arrangements so as to have as much control as possible over their care arrangements.  If someone with savings above the capital limit does ask the council to arrange services we make an administrative charge to cover our costs, currently set at £5.70 per week.

What is the council thinking of changing?

There are three main changes that the council is considering:

• Reducing the standard allowance we make in the financial assessment for "disability-related expenditure" other than care charges that the person has.
• Changing the way in which we allow for the cost of personal alarm services in the financial assessment.
• Charging people for their services if the council is still paying for them, whether or not the person has been able to use them.

Advice on completing this consultation response

Social care charges are not easy to understand.  The rules the council has to follow are complicated, and there's not much we can do about that.  We have tried to explain our proposals as clearly as possible, but we couldn't see how to make them simpler without missing out important information.  We recommend reading all the pages of this document before you start answering the questions.  If there are things you don't understand, please email us at carecharges@northumberland.gov.uk or phone our helpline on (01670) 622 891.

Please use the electronic response form on our website if you can.  That will make it much easier for us to be sure we have taken account of all the comments we have received.  If you are responding in another way, please make sure you make it clear which comments are responding to which question, and use the question numbers.