Paying for respite care in Wales

This information is for people living in Wales. It does not cover England and Northern Ireland, where the systems are different.
 

Financial assessment

The local authority will assess the person’s financial situation to decide if they should pay, and if so, how much. This is called a ‘financial assessment’. 

The person with dementia (or their carer or relative) will be asked to complete some forms about their finances. Someone from the local authority may visit to help the person fill in the forms.

In these forms, the person with dementia will have to report on two things: 

• Income – this refers to any money the person receives regularly. For example, this could be a pension or certain benefits (such as Universal credit or the Guarantee credit element of Pension credit)
• Capital – this refers to any other assets the person has. This includes savings and investments. It does not include the person’s main home.

Financial assessments work in slightly different ways for care in England and for care in Northern Ireland.

Care at home

Respite care can be provided in the person’s own home, or in the community such as a day centre. In this case, the local authority can ask the person to pay an ‘affordable’ amount towards the cost. This will never be more than the maximum weekly charge, which is currently set at £100 per week (2024).

If the person has over £24,000 (2024 rate) in available capital, they will either pay:

• The maximum weekly charge, or
• The amount the services actually cost if they cost less than the maximum weekly charge.

If the person has less than £24,000 (2024 rate) in available capital, they will not be expected to use any of their capital to cover care costs, including respite. They must also be left with enough income to cover living costs. This is known as their minimum income amount (MIA). This is comprised of:

• Basic entitlement – this can be the amount of Pension 
  credit guarantee Credit that a person receives. Or, if they are not getting this benefit, the amount worked out by the local authority based on their age, level of disability and personal circumstances.
• 35% buffer of their basic entitlement – this is the minimum buffer, but the local authority may allow more.
• 10% allowance for Disability related expenditure (DRE) – this covers additional costs related to the person’s disability needs not met by the social care package. Examples include community alarms, extra laundry costs and food for a specialist diet. Local authorities may allow more than this.

This means that if someone has less than £24,000 in available 
capital, they may pay less than the maximum weekly charge 
for their care. This is to allow them to cover any living costs with 
their income.

Residential respite in care homes

Most people entering respite in a care home are classed as short-term residents. This is because their stay should be no longer than eight weeks. 

Short-term residents who are eligible for local authority respite funding have the same rules for respite at home. This means that regardless of whether they have above or below the £24,000 capital limit, the maximum they can be charged for respite care in a residential care home is £100 per week (2024 rate). If they have less than £24,000 they may be charged less.

If a person goes into a care home for more than eight weeks, they are usually known as a ‘temporary resident’. This means their 
financial assessment for respite care will be different. It will follow similar rules to an assessment for permanent care. 

If they have over the capital limit for residential care, which is set higher at £50,000 (2024 rate), they will need to self-fund their residential respite costs. There is no maximum weekly charge for residential care, so they may be expected to pay the full cost of the respite fees.

If they have below £50,000 (2024 rate) in available capital, they will not be expected to use any of this for residential respite care costs. A contribution from their income will still be expected, but they must retain their minimum income amount. In addition to this, they must:

• Be left with enough income to cover any of the housing costs stated in the regulations. This includes ‘mortgage repayments, payments of rent or ground rent, council tax [and most] service charges’.
• Have their partner’s needs considered, if they have one.
• Retain any ongoing Disability related expenditure costs.

Whether the person is classed as a short-term or temporary resident, their property will not be included. This is because the person intends to return home when respite ends.

Other types of funding

You, or the person you care for, may be able to get help with respite care funding. This could be from a charity, grant-making trust or benevolent fund. This includes ex-service organisations that support people who have been in certain jobs or industries. 

Your local carers’ centre can advise on what is available in your area. To find your local carers’ centre, you can visit our Dementia Directory at alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you. There may also be national organisations that can help. Turn2Us can give you more information on this.

Carer’s allowance during residential respite

If the person with dementia receives respite care while staying in a care home, Carer’s allowance entitlement can continue for up 
to 12 weeks. However, it may end sooner than this.

For you to be eligible for Carer’s allowance, the person you care for must be receiving a ‘qualifying benefit’. This includes: 

• Disability living allowance (DLA)
• Personal independence payment (PIP)
• Attendance allowance (AA). 

Unless you or the person with dementia are funding the whole cost of respite yourselves, these benefits will usually stop 
28 days after the person goes into a care home. Your Carer’s allowance will continue until their entitlement to the qualifying 
benefit stops.

You should speak to the DWP to discuss any change of circumstances that could affect your benefits, or any benefit of the person you care for. This includes stays in hospital and respite in care homes. For information about types of benefits,