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Home care costs in Stockton-on-Tees: will the council pay?

Care at home in Stockton-on-Tees costs about £27.79 an hour on average in 2026, and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council will pay some or all of it if a free needs assessment and means test say so. Here’s what to expect in Stockton, Thornaby, Billingham, Yarm, Ingleby Barwick, Eaglescliffe and Norton, who to ring, and what’s free.

Written by registered care managers in Stockton-on-Tees · Figures checked 27 October 2026 (2026/27 rates)

What care at home costs in Stockton-on-Tees

Thirty-two home care providers cover the Stockton-on-Tees area. Among those that publish their prices, the average is £27.79 an hour for visits and £1,536 a week for live-in care, where a carer lives in the home. That’s a little below the national picture: across the UK, home care runs at £26–£38 an hour, and the Homecare Association puts the price needed to deliver care properly, paying carers the legal minimum, their travel and training, at £34.42 an hour for 2026/27.

Local averages from the homecare.co.uk Stockton-on-Tees listings, 27 October 2026. Use the calculator for your own hours and savings.

If the council arranges your care, it pays its contracted providers less than private rates, Stockton reported an average of £22.88 per hour of care for 2025/26, and across the North East councils average £24.85 an hour in 2026/27. If you later top up council-arranged care, or arrange it yourself as a self-funder, you’ll be paying the private rates above.

Will Stockton-on-Tees Council pay?

Two things decide it: whether you have eligible needs (the needs assessment) and what you can afford (the financial assessment, or “means test”). Both are free. The means-test rules are national, the same in Stockton as everywhere in England, and for 2026/27 they work like this:

Your house is not counted for care in your own home, only if you move permanently into a care home. Attendance Allowance and PIP are not means-tested, but the council will count most of them as income when it works out your contribution.

Stockton has an online financial assessment tool that gives an indication of what you’d pay before you commit to anything. The council’s Adult Social Care Financial Services team (01642 527470) carries out the full assessment, and can also help you take your budget as a direct payment, money paid to you to arrange your own care, including help recruiting personal assistants and running their payroll.

How to get a care needs assessment in Stockton-on-Tees

1. Ring First Contact on 01642 527764 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm), or complete the adult social care assessment form online. A relative, friend or GP can ask on your behalf. You don’t need a referral.
2. First Contact screens your request and may be able to sort simple things straight away, equipment, a referral to reablement, or advice. If you need a fuller assessment, it’s passed to a social work team.
3. The assessment itself is a conversation about what you can manage, what you struggle with and what matters to you. It usually takes about an hour, at home or by phone. Ask for a carer’s assessment at the same time if someone looks after you.
4. You get a care and support plan if you have eligible needs, then the financial assessment decides what you pay. From first call to a plan typically takes four to six weeks; say so if your situation is urgent.

Writing down a typical day before the assessment, what you need help with, how long it takes, what happens on a bad day, makes a real difference. Age UK Teesside (01642 805500) can help you prepare.

What’s free in Stockton-on-Tees

• Reablement. If you’re recovering from a fall, an illness or a hospital stay, Stockton’s Reablement Service provides short-term support at home, up to four visits a day between 7am and 10pm, to rebuild your confidence and independence. It’s free for up to six weeks where a need is identified, reviewed at about four weeks, and the service is rated Good by the CQC. Ask the hospital or First Contact.
• Equipment and adaptations. Occupational therapy assessments, via First Contact, for things like rails, raised toilet seats and bath aids. The Stockton Independent Living Centre runs drop-in advice clinics and equipment demonstrations.
• Support for carers. Stockton’s Adult Carers’ Support Service (01642 524494) offers a carer’s assessment, advice and breaks. The LiveWell Dementia Hub (01642 527363) supports families living with dementia.
• Information. The Stockton Information Directory lists local services, and Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees can help if things go wrong.

Benefits that help pay for care at home

Most people arranging care in Stockton are entitled to money they haven’t claimed. Attendance Allowance (£76.70 or £114.60 a week in 2026/27) is for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care, it isn’t means-tested, so it’s paid whatever your savings, and many families use it to cover a daily visit. Under State Pension age, the equivalent is PIP. If someone looks after you for 35 hours a week they may get Carer’s Allowance (£86.45 a week), and Pension Credit tops up a single pensioner’s income to £238 a week. Our rights & benefits page explains each one with links to claim.

Questions people in Stockton ask us

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