Additional Cost in relation to a Care Home Placement
Page updated on: 28/05/2025
If you are going into a care home for less than 8 weeks (e.g., respite, short-term care or replacement care) the council only has to offer you one suitable and available care home placement to meet your needs . You can choose to go to a home which is more expensive than the one that the council offers, but you will have to pay the difference in cost between the care home offered by Carmarthenshire County Council and the one that you have chosen. This is called an Additional Cost and will be in addition to your financially assessed contribution.
If you have been assessed as needing a care home placement and at the time the stay is expected to last longer than 8 weeks (i.e. a temporary or permanent placement) (and that placement is not provided under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983) then the council has an obligation to:
- Offer a choice of two suitable care home placements, which have availability to meet the assessed needs.
- To arrange for you to go to the care home of your choice, even if that is not one of the two suitable care home placements identified by the Council provided that the care home can meet your needs and will enter into a contract with the Council. An Additional Cost may be due from you (only if there is a deferred payment agreement in place), or a third party if the care home you choose is not one of the homes identified by the local authority.
It is important to be aware that not all care homes charge the same rate for a care home placement. Every year Carmarthenshire County Council meets with representatives from the care homes in Carmarthenshire to agree a standard rate for Council arranged care home placements.
There are four different standard rates depending on the type of care a person needs. A number of care homes will accept the council’s standard contract rate, whereas others will want to charge more. If the care home is not in Carmarthenshire, Carmarthenshire County Council will pay the care home its standard contract rate and the difference in cost, if it is more expensive, will be an additional cost.
If Carmarthenshire County Council cannot offer you a placement at two care homes at its standard rate, then whichever one you choose out of the two homes offered, you will only be charged up to the standard rate for the type of care you need (i.e. there will not be an Additional Cost charged)
However, the actual amount that you will contribute to the cost of the care home will be determined by a financial assessment.
If you want to go to a different care home to the two we have offered you, then you can go anywhere in Wales, England, Northern Ireland, or Scotland. However, if the care home that you choose, whether in Carmarthenshire or not charges more than Carmarthenshire's standard rate, or more than the two care homes offered to you, then an additional cost applies.
It is important to note that if there is an additional cost, then unless you can enter into a Deferred Payment Agreement usually someone other than yourself will have to pay this from their own funds. This amount is on top of what you are financially assessed to contribute towards the cost of your care home placement.
If you cannot pay the Additional Cost yourself through a Deferred Payment Agreement and do not have a third party who is willing and able to pay the Additional Cost then you must choose one of the two care homes offered to you by the council (or a care home of equivalent cost), or take a Direct Payment to pay for your care home placement, or make your own arrangements for the care home placement without involvement from the council – see Factsheet 27 – Privately arranged For Care, link below:
If Carmarthenshire County Council is contracting for your care home placement and it is more expensive that the two offered and more expensive than the standard rate, Carmarthenshire County Council will contract with the care home for the entire cost of the placement, including the additional cost amount.
However, you will need to identify someone who is willing and able to pay the additional cost referred to above. That person needs to understand that they will be obliged to pay that additional cost for as long as you are in the care home. As a result, Carmarthenshire County Council will want to see evidence that this person can afford to pay the additional cost.
They will also be required to sign a legally binding contract with the council confirming that they will pay this amount and may be subject to legal recovery action should they fail to pay this amount. The person you identify, or any of your family should never be asked by the care home to pay the additional cost directly to them.
It is also important to note that care homes regularly change their care home fees and thus the council’s standard rate can change. If this rate changes it may mean that the additional cost increases and therefore the person paying this amount needs to be aware of this.
We will initially look to pursue the debt due from the person, through our debt management process, which could ultimately result in court action.
In addition, if the additional cost is not being paid the council will look at making alternative cheaper arrangements, which could include you having to move to a cheaper care home.
For more detailed information on Additional Costs please see Fact Sheet 26 – Additional Cost in relation to a Care Home Placement, link below:
Additional Cost in relation to a Care Home Placement
Or contact the Residential Accommodation Brokerage Team on:
Phone: 01267 228751
E-mail: COMBrokerageAccomodation@carmarthenshire.gov.uk
Financial charging is complicated and therefore if you have any queries, please speak to the social work staff member dealing with you, or our Financial Assessment Team
Phone: 01267 228997 / 01267 228861
E-mail: SCHfinancialassess@carmarthenshire.gov.uk
