How much does home care cost in the AL postcode area?

Agencies in the AL postcode area quote by the hour after an assessment, so there is no single price. The Homecare Association calculates that a provider needs to charge at least £34.42 an hour in 2026-27 to pay careworkers the statutory minimum for all their working time and run a compliant business. Two half-hour visits a day at that rate is roughly £481.88 a week.

Will the council pay for home care in the AL postcode area?

Your council can arrange and fund care after a needs assessment, which is free and which anyone can ask for. What you pay towards it depends on a separate financial assessment of income and capital. Councils in England paid independent providers an average of £25.05 an hour in 2026-27, against a minimum sustainable price of £34.42, which is why council-funded hours and privately bought hours are often priced differently.

Which home care services in the AL postcode area are rated best?

36 of the 78 services in the AL postcode area carry a published CQC rating and 33 of those, 92%, are rated Good or Outstanding. That is above the 89% across England. 4 are rated Outstanding, the top grade, among them Harrall Care Services Limited t/a Home Instead Senior Care, The Inclusion Project and Care By Us - North London & West Hertfordshire. A rating describes the service on the day it was inspected, so check the report date as well as the word.

How do I choose a home care agency in the AL postcode area?

Start with what the regulator publishes, then ask what it cannot tell you: who would actually visit, whether it is the same carer each time, what happens when that person is ill, and how long a call really lasts. 42 of the 78 services in the AL postcode area carry no published verdict at all, so for those the questions are the only evidence you have. Every service here comes from the public register, and contacting one costs nothing: we take no fee and no commission.

Home care in the AL postcode area

There are 78 home care services in the AL postcode area registered with the Care Quality Commission. 36 carry a published CQC rating, and 33 of those are rated Good or Outstanding. The other 42 are unrated, which usually means they have not been inspected since registering rather than that anything is wrong. Privately arranged care is quoted by the hour, and the Homecare Association puts the minimum a provider must charge in 2026-27 at £34.42, or about £481.88 a week for two half-hour visits a day. They span 10 postcode districts and 6 towns. Postcode areas cut across council boundaries, so more than one local authority is involved.

What home care costs in the AL postcode area

None of the 78 services in the AL postcode area have published their rates here yet. Ring two or three and ask. Most will quote over the phone.

For comparison, the Homecare Association puts the minimum sustainable price at £34.42 an hour for 2026-27. That covers careworker pay at the statutory minimum for all working time including travel, mileage, wage-related costs, and the minimum cost of running a compliant care business.

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Showing 1 to 24 of 78

Lighthouse Homecare Ltd

St. Albans, Hertfordshire

Not yet rated · on the register 3 years

Caring for children (0 - 18yrs)
Sensory impairments
Caring for adults under 65 yrs
+6 more

Hourly rate: not published
Pays carers for travel: not published
Shortest visit: not published

Home care in the AL postcode area

What home care costs in the AL postcode area

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