If you are aged 18 or over and unable to perform some of your day-to-day tasks as a result of age, illness, disability or any significant change in your life; you may be eligible for care and support.
This guide is for people who have care and support needs, their carers, and individuals who are planning their future care needs.
There is a variety of support available to help you remain independent as long as possible. This support may come from friends or family, the voluntary sector or arranged by Adult Social Care. If you assessed as being eligible to receive care and support from Adult Social Services you will then be financially assessed to determine a financial contribution that you will need to make towards your care costs.
Support might be available in your local community, and this may help prevent or delay development of more care and support needs in the future.
The Care Act 2014 lists some examples of what may be provided to meet needs as:
a) accommodation in a care home or in premises of some other type;
b) care and support at home or in the community;
c) counselling and other types of social work;
d) goods and facilities;
e) information, advice and advocacy.
Within this spectrum, types of social care and support may include:
In the home, community or day care (non-residential)
- Assistive Technology: a range of electronic devices to support you to live independently at home.
- Day Care: is typically a community-based facility, which can support your health, care, nutritional, social and daily living needs.
- Domiciliary Care: support provided to enable you to live independently in your own home.
- Extra Care Housing: comes in many built forms, including blocks of flats, bungalow estates and retirement villages. It is a popular choice among older people because it can sometimes provide an alternative to a care home.
- Extra Care Independent Living: In Extra Care Housing Schemes, people who have been identified as having a care need (the majority of whom will meet the eligibility criteria for care services), live within their own self-contained flats.
Appropriate support, including personal and social care and
support provision is provided by staff employed by the care provider, in accordance with an ongoing assessment of need. This supported living care is provided with a reablement focus (where appropriate), to each individual in their own home, by promoting their independence and well-being. - Mobile Nights: provides personal care visits during out of hours for those who wish to remain as independent as possible whilst remaining in their home.
- Reablement: enables individuals to regain both the confidence and practical skills to carry out daily living activities. Reablement is for a limited period.
- Respite: respite care means taking a break from caring, while the person you care for is looked after by someone else. It lets you take time out to look after yourself and helps stop you becoming exhausted and run down. There are lots of respite care options. They range from getting a volunteer to sit with the person you look after for a few hours, to a short stay in a care home so you can go on holiday. The person you look after could go to a Day Care Centre or a paid Carer could visit them at their home to look after them, this can support and strengthen the ability of the caregiver
- Supported Living describes the arrangement whereby someone who wants their own tenancy or own home, or where such accommodation may be appropriate for them and their needs, have support from a “Care and Support” provider to help them live as independently and safely as possible. They will receive support and help with a range of aspects required to live an ordinary life as possible.
- Transport: travel assistance maybe available in certain circumstances e.g. to attend a Day Centre, subject to Wirral Council’s Transport Policy.
Residential Services
- Nursing Care: is designed for individuals with complex conditions that need specific support. These Carers are registered nurses who are highly trained in dealing with complex clinical cases. These clinicians will oversee your case management holistically and liaise with relevant health professionals as needed. Funded Nursing Care (FNC) is funded by NHS Cheshire & Merseyside.
- Nursing EMI: are specialist elderly mentally infirm (EMI) homes for people with dementia who are no longer able to be looked after at home. To be eligible for Nursing EMI care, you must have care and support needs relating to mental health or dementia and require 24 hours a day oversight by a registered nurse.
- Residential Care: if home-based care is not appropriate for the individual, residential care may be required. Residential care refers to long-term care given to adults who stay in a residential setting rather than in their own home or family home. There are various residential care options available depending on the needs of the individual.
- Residential EMI: are specialist elderly mentally infirm (EMI) homes for people with dementia who are no longer able to be looked after at home. To be eligible for Residential EMI care, you must have care and support needs relating to mental health or dementia, but do not require 24 hours a day oversight by a registered nurse.
- Short Term Care: is a temporary solution that can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Care may be provided to a person who incurred a sudden illness, injury, or surgery but is expected to recover.
Visit the Wirral Infobank website for more information about services available in Wirral.
Assessment of Care and Support Needs
To decide on the best support for you, you must first have an assessment.
What is a Care Act (2014) Assessment?
A Care Act (2014) needs assessment is free of charge and will identify your specific needs, based on:
• your health and safety
• your ability to manage personal and daily routines, your independence
• your wellbeing
• your ability to make your own choices (Mental Capacity Assessment)
The application can also be made by professionals, such as doctors or care workers. This will allow us to determine what help you may need and complete further checks and evaluations.
You can complete an online assessment application yourself or on behalf of someone you know using:
If you do not wish to use the online application process you can contact:
- Central Advice and Duty Team, Monday to Friday, 8:50am to 5pm on 0151 606 2006.
Outside these hours call the Emergency Duty Team on 0151 677 6557. If the situation is very serious and you or a vulnerable adult are at immediate risk of harm, you should call the police on 999.
Once the assessment is completed, we will:
- give you information about services, advice and guidance
- determine if you are likely to need any ongoing support
- a financial assessment will then be undertaken to establish if you need to contribute towards your care costs
- direct you to a more appropriate source to deal with your request if the council is not able to help
Eligibility for Adult Support Services
For adults with care and support needs:
You will be eligible for help from Adult Social Care if you have care and support needs as a result of a physical or mental impairment or illness, and because of those needs, you cannot achieve two or more of the following outcomes, and as a consequence of being unable to achieve two or more of the following outcomes there is or there is likely to be a significant impact on your wellbeing:
- manage and maintain your nutrition
- maintain your personal hygiene
- manage your toilet needs
- your ability to dress yourself and be appropriately dressed (for example, in relation to the weather)
- make use of your home safely
- maintain a habitable home environment
- develop and maintain relationships with your family
- get and maintain work, training, education or volunteering
- make use of important facilities or services in the local community, including public transport and recreational facilities
- carry out any caring responsibilities for a child
Wellbeing relates to the following areas in particular:
• personal dignity (including treating you with respect)
• physical, mental and emotional wellbeing
• being protected from abuse and neglect
• having control over your day-to-day life (including over your care and support and how it is provided)
• participating in work, training and recreation
• your social and economic wellbeing
• your domestic, family and personal relationships
• suitable living accommodation
• your individual contribution to society.
If you qualify for our help
After your assessment, if we assess that you have eligible care and support needs, we will construct a care and support plan with you and anyone else you want involved in this process.
We will then conduct a financial assessment to see whether your care and support may be provided at no charge to you if certain criteria are met, or whether you may need to pay a contribution towards your care and if so, how much that might be.
Our Online Financial Assessment calculator allows an estimate to be calculated for how much you may need to contribute to the cost of care.
What if your needs are not eligible?
If, after assessment, you do not qualify for provision of care and support from us, we will explain why and give you information about what can be done to meet or reduce your needs.
For Carers (if you support or intend to support someone):
If you look after or support someone, you are entitled to ask for a Carer’s assessment which will assess whether you may have needs for support if you meet the Carer’s eligibility criteria:
Your needs are caused by providing necessary care for an adult, and as a result:
• your physical or mental health is at risk of deteriorating
• you are unable to achieve specified outcomes, and
• as a consequence, there is, or is likely to be, a significant impact on your wellbeing.
After your Carer’s assessment is complete, we will work out if your needs are eligible for support.
Statutory Guidance says that you must be providing ‘necessary’ care to someone to qualify. If you are providing care and support for needs which the person you look after is capable of meeting themselves, it may not be considered ‘necessary’ support. In such cases, we will provide information and advice to you and the person you look after (if appropriate) on how they can use their own resources or what is available in the community to meet their needs. This approach helps delay the need for care and support services for you and the person you look after.
Support might be available in your local community, and this may help prevent or delay development of more care and support needs in the future.
Personal Budget
A Personal Budget enables people to exercise greater choice and take control over how your care and support needs are met. The council will calculate how much money you will need for your assessed care and support; you will then be allocated a personal budget and will be offered guidance with deciding on how this money is to be spent. Your Personal Budget will be broken down into the amount you will contribute towards your care and support following your financial assessment and the remainder of the budget that the council will pay towards your assessed need.
You may opt for a Direct Payment to enable you to commission and engage your own care, or you can ask the council to manage your budget for you. Direct Payments are not intended to be less than is required to purchase care and support on the open market, however, if you choose a Direct Payment and manage your own care and support, this will be subject to council review and be appropriate to meet the needs identified within your needs assessment. You may also need to take advice as you would become the employer of the carers you commission using a Direct Payment, so you would have those responsibilities too.
You will also be required to undertake a financial assessment to establish if you need to contribute towards your care costs.
Charging and paying for care
Upper threshold limit
If you have more than the upper threshold limit in capital of £23,250 either in your own right or your share of any jointly held capital, you will be charged the full cost of care. If the council agree to commission the services on your behalf, you will be charged the full cost for the amount of services being received.
For those who have financial resources above the upper capital limit of £23,250, you can request the council to arrange non-residential care and support services on your behalf. To do so the council will charge a one-off arrangement fee of £90 (2025/2026) to cover the costs required to do so as per section 14 of the Care Act 2014.
Tariff Income contribution
If you have savings between £14,250 and £23,250 then a tariff income contribution of £1 for every £250 or part £250 is calculated based on the level of savings between £14,250 and £23,250.
For example, if you have savings of £15,000, the first £14,250 will be ignored leaving £750. There are three amounts of £250 in £750 so the tariff contribution required will be £3 per week which will be added to your estimated weekly income as part of the calculated financial assessment.
Date that charges commence
If the council agree to commission the services on your behalf, you will be charged the full agreed cost for the services being received. This charge will commence from the day that your care services begin, however there can be a delay for up to 12 weeks before you receive your first invoice. This will include backdated charges to the date from which you have received services.
It is therefore advisable to assign funding for this first bill.
Agreed Non-Residential fees and charges for April 2025 to March 2026
| Non-Residential Services | Unit | Charge 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Assistive Technology (Fall Alarm) | Per week | £2.50 |
| Home Care | Up to 1 hour | £22.70 |
| Home Care | Up to 45 mins | £17.03 |
| Home Care | Up to 1/2 hour | £11.35 |
| Home Care | Up to 15 mins | £5.68 |
| Day Care | One day | £50.00 |
| Day Care | One session | £25.00 |
| Extra Care-Adults (18-64) | Hourly | £23.02 |
| Extra Care-Adults (18-64) | Per night | £179.47 |
| Mobile Night | Per hour | £47.04 |
| Supported Living Night | Per night | £179.47 |
| Supported Living | Per hour | £23.02 |
| Transport (flat rate) | One journey | £9.90 |
Extra Care Housing - Older people (55+)
| Extra Care Housing | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Band 4 | Band 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of support received per week | Between 0 and 1/2 hour | Over 1/2 and up to 5 hours | Over 5 and up to 10 hours | Over 10 and up to 15 hours | Over 15 hours |
| Charge per week | £9.77 | £48.83 | £146.48 | £244.13 | £341.89 |
How your charge is calculated for non-residential services if you have below the capital threshold of £23,250.
If you are or are going to receive local authority-arranged care and support other than in a care home, you will need to retain a certain level of income to cover your living costs this is called the Minimum Income Guarantee.
This is the allowance for normal living expenses which will be included within your financial assessment.
The assessed weekly charge is based upon the following calculation:
(1) Total weekly Benefits/Income
Less (2) Allowance for normal living expenses
Less (3) Rent, mortgage or council tax which you
are liable to pay
Less (4) Disability Related Expenditure Equals
(5) Calculated disposable income
The assessed weekly charge is 100% of the calculated disposable income.
Disability Living Allowance mobility component is disregarded within the financial assessment.
Disability related expenditure
If you are in receipt of disability related benefits and you incur costs in relation to your disability, these costs will be evaluated to see if an additional allowance can be agreed as part of the financial assessment.
You will need to advise your Financial Assessor of any additional costs you may have due to your disability to see if they can be added to your care plan.
How your charge is calculated for respite/short term care services
If you have more than £23,250 in capital (2025/2026) either in your own right or your share of any jointly held capital, you will be charged the full cost of the placement which is the amount the Department of Adult Social Care pay. The value of your home will not be taken into account if you are a temporary resident.
Respite Care
If you have less than £23,250 in capital (2025/2026), you will be assessed to pay a weekly contribution in line with the Non-Residential charging rules. If you are already in receipt of a non-residential service such as domiciliary care, transport or day services and have been assessed to pay a weekly contribution you will continue to pay your weekly charge if you receive a respite service.
If you do not currently receive any services, a financial assessment will be carried out to determine if you need to make a weekly contribution towards any respite services you may receive.
| Respite Care | Wirral Weekly Standard Rate (2025/26) |
|---|---|
| Standard pension age | £134.45 |
| Standard under pension age | £80.70 |
Short Term Care
You will be charged in line with the charging rules for Residential Care. If your stay is only to be temporary (8-52 weeks) and the intention is that you will return to your own home, any additional personal expenses allowance or disregards within your financial assessment will be taken into account, such as ongoing independent living costs such as mortgages, rent and Council Tax, building insurance, utility costs (gas, electricity and water, including basic heating during the winter) and reasonable property maintenance costs. Sufficient allowance will be made if you have a partner living at home.
| Residential Services | Wirral Weekly Standard Rate 2025/26 |
| Residential | £718.00 |
| Residential (EMI) | £832.00 |
| Nursing | £778.00 |
| Nursing (EMI) | £855.00 |
How your charge is calculated for residential services
If you have more than £23,250 in capital (2025/2026) either in your own right or your share of any jointly held capital, you will be charged the full cost of the placement which is the amount the Department of Adult Social Services pay.
You are entitled to keep a weekly personal expenses allowance of £30.65 (2025/2026) (which is an annual figure agreed by Government as per Section 14(7) of the Care Act 2014) and the remainder of your benefits/ income are usually taken into account as part of your financial assessment.
The following benefits/income are disregarded when assessing your charge:
• Direct Payments
• Guaranteed Income Payments made to veterans under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
• War Pension Scheme payments made to veterans with the exception of Constant Attendance Allowance payments
• The mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
• The mobility component of Personal Independence Payments
• Charitable and voluntary payments that are made regularly
Whilst the following is partially disregarded:
• The first £10 War Widows Pension
If you are in receipt of an occupational pension this will be taken into account as part of the financial assessment however if you have a partner/spouse remaining at home they are entitled to claim 50% of any occupational pension.
A full list of further benefits that are taken into account or disregarded can be found within Annex C of the Care Act 2014 guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance#AnnexC
Payment arrangements
You will be sent an invoice for your charge every 4 weeks. You can pay via post office/pay point, cash/cheque, standing order, direct debit, telephone and via the internet. All payment methods are located on the reverse of each invoice.
For Deferred Payment Agreements, dependent on the terms of the agreement you may be issued with two invoices every 4 weeks.
• The first invoice will be for any difference between the agreed weekly assessed charge and the cost that has been agreed to be deferred. This will be payable immediately.
• The second invoice is a record to show the value that is being deferred against your property and will be payable in the future.
Residential and Nursing Care - Choosing your accommodation
Where a local authority is responsible for meeting your care and support needs and your needs have been assessed as requiring a particular type of accommodation in order to ensure that they are met, you have the right to choose between different providers of that type of accommodation provided that:
• The accommodation is suitable in relation to your assessed needs.
• To do so would not cost the local authority more than the amount specified in your personal budget for accommodation of that type.
• If the cost to the council of providing or arranging the preferred accommodation is more than specified in your personal budget, you are responsible to pay the difference.
• The accommodation is available.
• The provider of the accommodation is willing to enter into a contract with the local authority to provide the care at the rate identified in the person’s personal budget on the local authority’s terms and conditions.
How your charge is calculated for residential services where the property is taken into account.
The “12 Week Disregard” refers to the first twelve weeks of care you receive after entering a council-funded residence care or nursing home. The aim is to give you time to decide what you want to do with your property and how you will meet the cost of future eligible care needs.
The 12-week Disregard period includes the 4-week trial period, so it starts from the date your residential care is made permanent. It is only the value of your property that is disregarded, and you will still need to pay towards the cost of your residential/nursing care based on your capital and income. This is when a Deferred Payment Agreement may be considered to help with such costs.
If you own a property which is not subject to a disregard, (it is not your main or only home) your assessed charge is calculated and broken down as per below follows:
Weeks 1 to 12 of your long-term permanent placement, the value of your property is disregarded therefore you would just pay an assessed charge based on income and savings capital only as above.
4th week - if you are in receipt of Attendance Allowance/Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independents Payments after 4 weeks you must have this suspended (including any premiums associated with the benefit) by the Department of Work and Pensions.
13th week - from the first day of the 13th week when the property value is taken into account you will be classed as self-funding and charged the full cost of your service and therefore you are entitled to have your Attendance Allowance/Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independents Payments reinstated.
Under the Care Act 2014 guidance and if you make use of the deferred payment scheme you can retain a disposable income allowance of up to £144 per week from your income which is the present rate set by government.
You may choose to take less but the council will not force you to.
Top-ups
You or a third party on your behalf may wish to have an individual’s care needs met in a preferred way or may wish to choose different accommodation that costs more than the accommodation which the council have assessed and offered within that person’s Personal Budget.
If you or a third party wanted to choose that preference, you would need to pay the additional sum for your preferred care or accommodation. This is called a top-up payment.
Subject to the council being satisfied that the person receiving the care or a third-party representative can meet the cost of the top-up fee, then a first or a third party top-up agreement can be entered into.
If you are able to enter into a Deferred Payment Agreement Scheme you may be able to add the cost of the top-up payment to the Scheme, if the council agrees that there is enough equity in your home. You should discuss the possibility of preferred care or accommodation with your social worker or financial assessor. You can of course always take independent advice as well.
Deferred Payment Agreement
What is the ‘Deferred Payment Agreement’?
The law introduced Deferred Payment Agreements so that people should not be forced to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for their care if they cannot afford it.
By entering into a deferred payment agreement, the council agrees to:
- defer the payment of charges you would owe for meeting needs in a care home or supported living accommodation
or
- defer the repayment of a loan to you in instalments to cover the costs of care and support in a care home or supported living accommodation.
Deferring payment can help you delay the need to sell your home and provides peace of mind during a time that can be challenging (or even a crisis point) for you and your loved ones. A deferred payment agreement can also provide additional flexibility for when and how you pay for your care and support.
Effectively the scheme offers you a loan from Wirral Council using your home as security. It does not work in exactly the same way as a conventional loan.
The council will pay an agreed part of your weekly care and support bill for as long as is necessary.
You will pay a weekly contribution towards your care that you have been assessed as being able to pay from your income and other savings. The council pays the part of your weekly charge that you can’t afford or which relates to care you wish to receive but which we have assessed may not be necessary to the value of the charge set against your property, a charge which is not realised by the council during your lifetime.
If you make use of the deferred payment scheme you have a right to retain a disposable income allowance of up to £144.00 per week from your income as per the Care Act 2014 guidance, please be aware that if you take this option it will mean that the amount you defer will be higher. You may choose to take less but the council will not force you to.
The deferred payment builds up as a debt, which is cleared when the money tied up in your home is released. The purpose of a deferred payment agreement is that people should not be forced to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for their care.
A deferral can last until death. However, many people choose to use a deferred payment agreement as a ‘bridging loan’ to give them time and flexibility to sell their home if or when they choose to do. This is entirely up to you to decide.
Costs associated with the Deferred Payment Agreement - The council’s charges are listed below and, with the exception of the interest charge, will be reviewed on 1 April each year.
The Deferred Payment arrangement fee covers the costs of providing the deferred scheme as well as the legal costs, Land Registry fees for registering a charge, the property valuation costs and staffing costs.
| Type of Charge | Value |
|---|---|
| Set up of deferred payment agreement (admin charges) | £350 |
| Set up of deferred payment agreement (Legal charges) | £450 |
| Any change to the detail of a deferred payment agreement (charge for each change) | £100 |
| Repayment of a deferred payment agreement | £200 |
The loan will have interest charged on it in the same way a normal loan would be charged on money borrowed from a bank. The interest rate is a rate that does not exceed the relevant rate for the relevant period plus 0.15%. Currently the maximum rate to be charged is based on the cost of government borrowing and will change on the 1st January and 1st July every year.
The interest will apply from the day you enter into the Deferred Payment Scheme. You will receive regular statements advising you how your charge is being calculated and what the outstanding sum on your deferred payment account is.
In addition to the council’s charges there will be Land Registry fees and the possibility of a fee for valuing your property, both of which may vary. The cost of the valuation will depend on the amount you want to defer and the value of the property.
Your agreement with Wirral Council
If you decide to use the Deferred Payments Scheme, you enter into a legal agreement with the council by signing an agreement document. The council then places what is called a ‘legal charge’ on your property to safeguard the loan.
The agreement covers responsibility for you and the council, one of which is to make sure that your home is insured and maintained; if you incur expenses in maintaining your home while you are in residential or nursing care, these will be allowed for in the amount that you are assessed as contributing each week from your capital and income.
You can end the agreement at any time (for example if you sell your home) and the loan then becomes payable immediately, otherwise the agreement ends on your death and the loan becomes payable 90 days later. The council cannot cancel the agreement without your consent.
Other options
You may choose to rent out your property, which could give you enough income to cover the full cost of your care. There are advantages to this as you will not accrue a debt, be liable for interest and administrative charges and your property will be occupied. Your tenant will be paying utilities and Council Tax which will reduce your outgoings if this does not give you enough income you can still enter into a deferred payment, but you will defer less against your property.
There are also various equity release products which may be suitable for your personal circumstances.
You may also choose to pay the full cost of your care from your available income and savings/assets; or a family member may choose to pay some or all of this for you.
You should take independent financial and legal advice to help you decide which course of action will be financially better for you.
In order to apply for the Deferred Payment Scheme, you must:
• Have capital (excluding the property) of less than £23,250.
• Be professionally assessed as requiring and be entering permanent residential /nursing care in a registered care home.
• Own or have part legal ownership of a property, which is not benefitting from a property disregard, and ensure your property is registered with the Land Registry (if the property is not, you must arrange for it to be registered at your own expense) – your financial assessor can advise on how to do this.
• Have mental capacity to agree to a deferred payment agreement or have a legally appointed agent willing to agree this.
Whilst in the agreement, you will also need to:
• Have a responsible person willing and able to ensure that necessary maintenance is carried out on the property to retain its value, you are liable for any such expenses.
• Insure your property at your expense.
• Pay any client contribution as agreed through the deferred payment agreement. If you fail to pay the client contribution the council reserves the right to add this debt to the loan amount.
• There can be no other beneficial interests on the property, for example outstanding mortgages or equity release schemes, unless this is approved by the Local Authority.
PLEASE NOTE: Acceptance of any application under the scheme is subject to you meeting the criteria for entering the scheme, and the local authority being able to obtain security in your property. Until an agreement has been completed you will be liable for any contributions due and subject to the council’s normal debt collection processes.
Indication of invoicing and billing dates
Non-Residential Services
|
Period |
Service From |
Service To |
Invoice Date |
Direct Debit to be Collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24/02/2025 | 23/03/2025 | Sun 11/05/2025 | May |
| 2 | 24/03/2025 | 20/04/2025 | Sat 31/05/2025 | June |
| 3 | 21/04/2025 | 18/05/2025 | Fri 20/06/2025 | July |
| 4 | 19/05/2025 | 15/06/2025 | Thu 17/07/2025 | August |
| 5 | 16/06/2025 | 13/07/2025 | Wed 13/08/2025 | September |
| 6 | 14/07/2025 | 10/08/2025 | Tue 09/09/2025 | September |
| 7 | 11/08/2025 | 07/09/2025 | Fri 06/10/2025 | October |
| 8 | 08/09/2025 | 05/10/2025 | Sun 02/11/2025 | November |
| 9 | 06/10/2025 | 02/11/2025 | Sat 29/11/2025 | December |
| 10 | 03/11/2025 | 30/11/2025 | Fri 26/12/2025 | January |
| 11 | 01/12/2025 | 28/12/2025 | Thu 22/01/2026 | February |
| 12 | 29/12/2025 | 25/01/2026 | Wed 18/02/2026 | March |
| 13 | 26/01/2026 | 22/02/2026 | Tue 17/03/2026 | April |
Residential Services
|
Period |
Service From |
Service To |
Invoice Date | Direct Debit to be Collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10/03/2025 | 06/04/2025 | Wed 07/05/2025 | May |
| 2 | 07/04/2025 | 04/05/2025 | Sun 27/05/2025 | June |
| 3 | 05/05/2025 | 01/06/2025 | Mon 23/06/2025 | July |
| 4 | 02/06/2025 | 29/06/2025 | Sun 20/07/2025 | August |
| 5 | 30/06/2025 | 27/07/2025 | Sat 16/08/2025 | September |
| 6 | 28/07/2025 | 24/08/2025 | Fri 12/09/2025 | October |
| 7 | 25/08/2025 | 21/09/2025 | Thu 09/10/2025 | October |
| 8 | 22/09/2025 | 19/10/2025 | Thu 05/11/2025 | November |
| 9 | 20/10/2025 | 16/11/2025 | Tue 02/12/2025 | December |
| 10 | 17/11/2025 | 14/12/2025 | Mon 29/12/2025 | January |
| 11 | 15/12/2025 | 11/01/2026 | Sun 25/01/2026 | February |
| 12 | 12/01/2026 | 08/02/2026 | Sat 21/02/2026 | March |
| 13 | 09/02/2026 | 08/03/2026 | Fri 20/03/2026 | April |
Top-ups
The additional sum for your preferred care or accommodation above that exceeds your offered personal budget.
|
Period |
Service From |
Service To |
Invoice Date | Direct Debit to be Collected |
| 1 | 24/02/2025 | 23/03/2025 | Wed 09/04/2025 | April |
| 2 | 24/03/2025 | 20/04/2025 | Tue 29/04/2025 | May |
| 3 | 21/04/2025 | 18/05/2025 | Mon 26/05/2025 | June |
| 4 | 19/05/2025 | 15/06/2025 | Sun 22/06/2025 | July |
| 5 | 16/06/2025 | 13/07/2025 | Sat 19/07/2025 | August |
| 6 | 14/07/2025 | 10/08/2025 | Fri 15/08/2025 | September |
| 7 | 11/08/2025 | 07/09/2025 | Thu 11/09/2025 | October |
| 8 | 08/09/2025 | 05/10/2025 | Wed 08/10/2025 | October |
| 9 | 06/10/2025 | 02/11/2025 | Tue 04/11/2025 | November |
| 10 | 03/11/2025 | 30/11/2025 | Mon 01/12/2025 | December |
| 11 | 01/12/2025 | 28/12/2025 | Sun 28/12/2025 | January |
| 12 | 29/12/2025 | 25/01/2026 | Mon 26/01/2026 | February |
| 13 | 26/01/2026 | 22/02/2026 | Tue 24/02/2026 | March |
Struggling to pay charges and or debt
If you are struggling to pay your assessed charge i.e. there is a change in your financial circumstances contact the Personal Finance Unit on 0151 666 5222 who will try to assist you, or if you have accrued a debt you can contact the Collections and Recovery Team on 0151 666 3228 to discuss your options on repayment of the debt, we may ask you to complete an Income and Expenditure Form and based on the information provided will advise you of what you can afford to pay based on your income and outgoings.
You should also ask for information about whether or not your circumstances may be assisted by the council agreeing to a deferred payment agreement under sections 34-36 of the Care Act 2014. You can always take independent advice about this too.
Need help managing your affairs?
Depending on the level of help you require and your capacity to make decisions; there are number of options available:
Authority to Discuss: you must have capacity to make the specific decisions relevant to charging, care and finances if you wish to nominate someone you know to act on your behalf with regards to discussing your records.
Department of Work and Pensions Appointee: a relative or friend can apply for the right to deal with your benefits if you cannot manage your own affairs because you lack capacity to manage your property and finances or if you are severely disabled. If approved by the DWP, they would then become your DWP Appointee and only have power to receive and administer your benefits for you in your best interests and for your use. They would not have power to access your bank account for anything else. Being an Appointee is different from acting under a Power of Attorney.
Lasting Power of Attorney: if you do not lack capacity to make a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), you can authorise a friend/family member or solicitor to act or make decisions for you in relation to either your property and finances, or your care and welfare. LPAs must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. Financial LPAs, once registered, may be immediately relied upon, however any care and welfare LPA registered will only become effective once the person who made the LPA loses capacity to make decisions about their care and welfare.
For full details visit: https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA):
• Health and Welfare
• Property and Financial Affairs
Court of Protection: if you lose or lack capacity to make decisions and there is no Power of Attorney in place then someone involved in your care can apply for Court of Protection to be appointed as your Deputy for either property and finances, or care and welfare, or both. If no one can be identified to apply for Court of Protection then Wirral Council’s Financial Protection Team may make an application for Court of Protection to deal with your property and financial affairs. For full details visit: www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection
Financial Assessment: Queries and Appeals
You can ask the council to look again at the amount you have been assessed to contribute toward the cost of your service, if you think something is incorrect, your circumstances have changed or if you do not understand the assessment outcome information.
To do this you would need to contact the council on 0151 666 5222 or email personalfinanceunit@wirral.gov.uk and state clearly in the subject field your request for a Review. You may be asked to provide supporting evidence. The council will then review your assessment.
If the council’s original decision is found to be incorrect, the council will update your contribution and tell you the revised amount. If the council’s decision is found to be correct, the council will respond and tell you why.
The council aim to complete this review in 14 working days from receipt of the request (or supporting evidence).
If you are still not satisfied with the decision, you can submit the details and reasons for the appeal to the Complaints Disputes & Appeals Officer (CDAO) using either of the following:
Email address: personalfinanceunit@wirral.gov.uk stating clearly in the subject field your request for an Appeal,
Or write to: Benefits Service, PO Box 290, Wallasey, CH27 9FQ
The CDAO will review your case to make sure that:
• The charge has been raised in accordance with the council’s charging policies
• The council have followed the correct procedures when calculating your contribution.
• Equity and fairness are maintained to other people who have been assessed and charged in similar circumstances.
While your appeal is being considered, you will continue to get invoices based on your original financial assessment.
You should continue to pay any invoices to avoid running up any debts on your account.
If your appeal is successful and the CDAO reduces all or part of your contribution, any overpayments you have made on your account while your appeal was being considered will be either refunded to you or credited to your account.
If your appeal is rejected, you will be told the reasons why it was unsuccessful, and your financial assessment will be based on the original information you have supplied.
Complaints
Adult Social Care is responsible for ensuring that adults who may have needs are provided with information and advice, and any adults with eligible needs and their Carers receive the correct care and support in a fair and efficient way.
If problems should occur, it is important that we are told about them as this allows us the opportunity not only to put things right, but to make improvements to our services moving forward.
Should you wish to make a complaint or compliment you can do so by contacting the Complaints Resolution and Information Team on:
- Email: ASCfeedback@wirral.gov.uk
- Telephone: (0151) 666 4810
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, you can take your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman
Find out more about Wirral Council's Adult Social Services complaints and compliments procedure
Some services are commissioned, but not run by Wirral Council.
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