What every council pays for home care
Every English council reports what it paid independent agencies per hour for the home care it commissioned. Almost nobody publishes it next to the agencies themselves, and it explains a great deal about the sector.
£21.19
Median council rate, 2023-24
£34.42
Minimum sustainable price, 2026-27
99%
of councils pay below it
The national picture, like for like
The per-council figures below are the most detailed thing published, but they describe 2023-24. For the current year there is a national pair from the same source, so this comparison needs no caveat at all.
£25.05
average councils pay, 2026-27
£34.42
minimum sustainable price, 2026-27
£9.37
short, every hour, 27% below
Both figures are the Homecare Association’s, both describe 2026-27, and the gap is the subtraction. Councils buy roughly a quarter below what the sector says the work costs to do properly, and somebody absorbs that difference. Usually it is the carer.
What the gap means
The Homecare Association calculates what an agency must charge to pay its carers the legal minimum for all their working time, travel between visits included, and still meet its obligations as a regulated business. For 2026-27 that is £34.42 an hour.
149 of 150 councils reported paying less than that. An agency accepting work below the figure has to find the difference somewhere, and staffing is between 75% and 90% of what it costs to deliver home care. That is why carers are so often not paid for the time they spend driving, and why turnover is what families end up complaining about.
A caveat worth taking seriously. The council figures describe 2023-24 and the minimum price describes 2026-27. They are not like-for-like, and wages have risen between them, so the comparison is indicative. The direction is not in doubt: the National Living Wage alone is now £12.71 an hour before any travel time, mileage, training, cover or overheads.
Every council, cheapest first
| Council | An hour | Against the minimum price |
|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | £17 | £17.42 below (51%) |
| Harrow | £17.45 | £16.97 below (49%) |
| Ealing | £17.52 | £16.90 below (49%) |
| Halton | £17.70 | £16.72 below (49%) |
| Birmingham | £17.83 | £16.59 below (48%) |
| Surrey | £17.86 | £16.56 below (48%) |
| Walsall | £18 | £16.42 below (48%) |
| Kingston upon Thames | £18 | £16.42 below (48%) |
| Hillingdon | £18.15 | £16.27 below (47%) |
| North East Lincolnshire | £18.32 | £16.10 below (47%) |
| Enfield | £18.32 | £16.10 below (47%) |
| Darlington | £18.34 | £16.08 below (47%) |
| Sandwell | £18.40 | £16.02 below (47%) |
| Slough | £18.45 | £15.97 below (46%) |
| Haringey | £18.53 | £15.89 below (46%) |
| Derbyshire | £18.60 | £15.82 below (46%) |
| Stockton-on-Tees | £18.66 | £15.76 below (46%) |
| Brent | £18.68 | £15.74 below (46%) |
| Wolverhampton | £18.84 | £15.58 below (45%) |
| Wigan | £19 | £15.42 below (45%) |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £19 | £15.42 below (45%) |
| Barnet | £19 | £15.42 below (45%) |
| Blackpool | £19.04 | £15.38 below (45%) |
| Croydon | £19.20 | £15.22 below (44%) |
| Peterborough | £19.23 | £15.19 below (44%) |
| Wandsworth | £19.36 | £15.06 below (44%) |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £19.38 | £15.04 below (44%) |
| Sunderland | £19.42 | £15 below (44%) |
| Medway | £19.49 | £14.93 below (43%) |
| Knowsley | £19.68 | £14.74 below (43%) |
| Nottingham | £19.72 | £14.70 below (43%) |
| Dudley | £19.72 | £14.70 below (43%) |
| Southwark | £19.74 | £14.68 below (43%) |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £19.75 | £14.67 below (43%) |
| Telford and Wrekin | £19.75 | £14.67 below (43%) |
| Trafford | £19.78 | £14.64 below (43%) |
| Coventry | £19.83 | £14.59 below (42%) |
| Leicester | £19.98 | £14.44 below (42%) |
| Middlesbrough | £20 | £14.42 below (42%) |
| County Durham | £20 | £14.42 below (42%) |
| Manchester | £20 | £14.42 below (42%) |
| Hackney | £20 | £14.42 below (42%) |
| Camden | £20.05 | £14.37 below (42%) |
| Lambeth | £20.05 | £14.37 below (42%) |
| Bracknell Forest | £20.19 | £14.23 below (41%) |
| St. Helens | £20.24 | £14.18 below (41%) |
| Greenwich | £20.34 | £14.08 below (41%) |
| Barking and Dagenham | £20.38 | £14.04 below (41%) |
| North Northamptonshire | £20.38 | £14.04 below (41%) |
| Bromley | £20.39 | £14.03 below (41%) |
| Hartlepool | £20.42 | £14 below (41%) |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £20.46 | £13.96 below (41%) |
| Wakefield | £20.48 | £13.94 below (40%) |
| Bury | £20.49 | £13.93 below (40%) |
| Richmond upon Thames | £20.51 | £13.91 below (40%) |
| Newham | £20.52 | £13.90 below (40%) |
| Thurrock | £20.58 | £13.84 below (40%) |
| Luton | £20.59 | £13.83 below (40%) |
| Westminster | £20.75 | £13.67 below (40%) |
| Bexley | £20.84 | £13.58 below (39%) |
| Southend-on-Sea | £20.84 | £13.58 below (39%) |
| Tameside | £20.88 | £13.54 below (39%) |
| Redbridge | £20.95 | £13.47 below (39%) |
| Sheffield | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Oldham | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Rochdale | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Islington | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Derby | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Bedford | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Tower Hamlets | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| South Gloucestershire | £21 | £13.42 below (39%) |
| Lancashire | £21.06 | £13.36 below (39%) |
| Stockport | £21.09 | £13.33 below (39%) |
| North Tyneside | £21.15 | £13.27 below (39%) |
| Wokingham | £21.19 | £13.23 below (38%) |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £21.21 | £13.21 below (38%) |
| Liverpool | £21.22 | £13.20 below (38%) |
| Gateshead | £21.27 | £13.15 below (38%) |
| West Northamptonshire | £21.30 | £13.12 below (38%) |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | £21.34 | £13.08 below (38%) |
| Southampton | £21.41 | £13.01 below (38%) |
| Bolton | £21.42 | £13 below (38%) |
| Salford | £21.50 | £12.92 below (38%) |
| South Tyneside | £21.51 | £12.91 below (38%) |
| Calderdale | £21.61 | £12.81 below (37%) |
| Hounslow | £21.65 | £12.77 below (37%) |
| Milton Keynes | £21.68 | £12.74 below (37%) |
| Wirral | £21.72 | £12.70 below (37%) |
| Reading | £21.72 | £12.70 below (37%) |
| Bradford | £21.73 | £12.69 below (37%) |
| Brighton and Hove | £21.78 | £12.64 below (37%) |
| Sefton | £21.79 | £12.63 below (37%) |
| Staffordshire | £21.80 | £12.62 below (37%) |
| Cumberland | £21.83 | £12.59 below (37%) |
| North Lincolnshire | £21.84 | £12.58 below (37%) |
| Cheshire West and Chester | £21.85 | £12.57 below (37%) |
| Lewisham | £21.92 | £12.50 below (36%) |
| Rotherham | £22 | £12.42 below (36%) |
| Rutland | £22 | £12.42 below (36%) |
| Lincolnshire | £22 | £12.42 below (36%) |
| Cambridgeshire | £22 | £12.42 below (36%) |
| Havering | £22 | £12.42 below (36%) |
| Sutton | £22 | £12.42 below (36%) |
| Plymouth | £22.05 | £12.37 below (36%) |
| Nottinghamshire | £22.20 | £12.22 below (36%) |
| Portsmouth | £22.32 | £12.10 below (35%) |
| Cheshire East | £22.42 | £12 below (35%) |
| Warwickshire | £22.45 | £11.97 below (35%) |
| Worcestershire | £22.47 | £11.95 below (35%) |
| Suffolk | £22.47 | £11.95 below (35%) |
| Leicestershire | £22.50 | £11.92 below (35%) |
| Isle of Wight | £22.52 | £11.90 below (35%) |
| Buckinghamshire | £23 | £11.42 below (33%) |
| Merton | £23 | £11.42 below (33%) |
| Swindon | £23 | £11.42 below (33%) |
| Bristol, City of | £23 | £11.42 below (33%) |
| Kirklees | £23.31 | £11.11 below (32%) |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | £23.47 | £10.95 below (32%) |
| Warrington | £23.55 | £10.87 below (32%) |
| Essex | £23.57 | £10.85 below (32%) |
| York | £23.58 | £10.84 below (31%) |
| West Berkshire | £23.72 | £10.70 below (31%) |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | £23.90 | £10.52 below (31%) |
| Hampshire | £23.97 | £10.45 below (30%) |
| Cornwall | £24 | £10.42 below (30%) |
| Norfolk | £24.12 | £10.30 below (30%) |
| Barnsley | £24.17 | £10.25 below (30%) |
| Northumberland | £24.29 | £10.13 below (29%) |
| Herefordshire, County of | £24.35 | £10.07 below (29%) |
| Torbay | £24.36 | £10.06 below (29%) |
| Leeds | £24.39 | £10.03 below (29%) |
| Shropshire | £24.58 | £9.84 below (29%) |
| Doncaster | £24.60 | £9.82 below (29%) |
| North Somerset | £24.69 | £9.73 below (28%) |
| Central Bedfordshire | £25.12 | £9.30 below (27%) |
| Somerset | £25.22 | £9.20 below (27%) |
| East Sussex | £25.30 | £9.12 below (26%) |
| North Yorkshire | £25.85 | £8.57 below (25%) |
| Devon | £26 | £8.42 below (24%) |
| Dorset | £26.39 | £8.03 below (23%) |
| Wiltshire | £26.39 | £8.03 below (23%) |
| West Sussex | £26.53 | £7.89 below (23%) |
| Kent | £26.55 | £7.87 below (23%) |
| Gloucestershire | £26.61 | £7.81 below (23%) |
| Hertfordshire | £27 | £7.42 below (22%) |
| Oxfordshire | £27.59 | £6.83 below (20%) |
| City of London | £29.27 | £5.15 below (15%) |
| Bath and North East Somerset | £31.35 | £3.07 below (9%) |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £40.38 | at or above |
Rates from the NHS England, Adult Social Care Finance Return for 2023-24, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source data. 150 councils reported a usable figure; the rest were suppressed for disclosure control or reported nothing. These are rates councils pay, not rates a private client pays.