Where the money goes
Long-term care took the largest share of spending in 2024 to 2025, at 80% of gross current expenditure, worth about £23.6 billion, with short-term care and other spending making up the rest (DHSC, Adult social care finance report, England: 2024 to 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change). Most care is delivered by external providers rather than councils' own services, which is one reason later-life care costs feature so often in estate planning conversations.
| Category | Figure (2024-25) |
|---|
| Expenditure on own provision | £6,707m |
| Provision by others (external providers) | £27,666m |
| Grants to voluntary organisations | £175m |
| Long-term care (share of GCE) | 80% (£23.6bn) |
| Short-term care (share of GCE) | About 4% (£1.1bn) |
| Other spending (share of GCE) | 16% (£4.8bn) |
Source: DHSC, Adult social care finance report, England: 2024 to 2025, reference period 2024-25, as at July 2026, subject to change. Category totals reflect gross expenditure. Figures may be revised.
Who the spending reaches
Councils in England received 2.02 million requests for adult social care support from new clients in 2024 to 2025, and 672,000 people were receiving long-term care at 31 March 2025 (DHSC, Adult social care activity report, England: 2024 to 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change). Of those requests, 1.30 million came from people aged 65 and over and 665,000 from those aged 18 to 64. These figures cover care that councils arrange or fund; they do not capture people who pay privately without approaching their local authority.
Published spending records the care councils arrange or fund. It does not show the many people who meet care costs from their own resources.
What the numbers mean
In our reading, three points stand out. First, spending is rising in cash terms but far less in real terms, so headline growth can overstate how much extra care the money buys. Second, income from the people who receive care is climbing quickly, up 14% in 2024 to 2025 to £4,676 million, which is a reminder that means-tested charges can form a real part of household budgets (DHSC finance report, 2024-25, as at July 2026, subject to change). Third, the official totals sit alongside a large privately funded sector that these statistics do not measure.
None of this points to a single course of action, and outcomes depend heavily on individual circumstances. What the data does suggest is that later-life care costs are a common feature of financial planning, and many people choose to discuss how those costs might be met with a qualified professional before decisions are made.
How councils charge for care
In England, whether a council helps with care costs depends on a means test with two capital thresholds: an upper capital limit of £23,250 and a lower capital limit of £14,250 (DHSC, charging for care and support 2025 to 2026 local authority circular, as at July 2026, subject to change). Broadly, someone with capital above the upper limit is generally expected to meet the full cost, while those below the lower limit are not usually asked to contribute from capital; between the two, a tariff income applies. A financial assessment looks at income and assets, and the rules on what counts are detailed.
It is worth being aware of the local authority rules on deprivation of assets. If a council decides that someone has deliberately reduced their assets, for example by giving money away, in order to reduce a care charge, it can treat those assets as if the person still held them. For that reason, giving assets away with the aim of avoiding care fees can be challenged and may not work. This page describes the framework only; it is not a method for deliberately avoiding care fees. Anyone considering care fees planning, meaning steps that may limit or mitigate the impact of care costs within the rules, can find it worth discussing their position with a suitably qualified professional. Our guide to Care Home Fees covers this in more detail, and our overview of the care home sector sets the wider context.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The spending and charging figures above describe England. The other UK nations run their own systems and publish separately. Scotland provides personal and nursing care with its own funding arrangements and different capital limits, and Northern Ireland has its own health and social care structure. If care may be arranged outside England, the local rules and figures differ, and it can be worth checking the relevant nation's guidance. How care costs interact with an estate also sits within the wider estate planning guide.
Sources and methodology
Every figure on this page comes from a named official statistics source and was checked against that source. Spending figures use gross current expenditure and total expenditure as defined by the Department of Health and Social Care. Activity figures count people and requests recorded by councils, and exclude wholly private arrangements. Statistics may be revised in later releases.
- DHSC, Adult social care finance report, England: 2024 to 2025 (reference period 2024-25), covering expenditure, income and trend figures.
- DHSC, Adult social care activity report, England: 2024 to 2025 (reference period 2024-25), covering requests for support and people receiving care.
- DHSC, Social care charging for care and support 2025 to 2026: local authority circular (published February 2025), covering capital limits for the means test.
- HM Government, Inheritance Tax (as at July 2026, subject to change), for context on thresholds referenced in FAQs.
Frequently asked questions
How much do local authorities spend on adult social care?
In England, councils spent £29.4 billion in gross current terms on adult social care in 2024 to 2025, and £34.5 billion in total expenditure, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (Adult social care finance report, England: 2024 to 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change). Both figures rose on the previous year. Scotland and Northern Ireland report separately.
Is council social care spending going up?
In cash terms it has risen each recent year, from £22.0 billion in gross current expenditure in 2021 to 2022 to £29.4 billion in 2024 to 2025 (DHSC finance report, 2024-25, as at July 2026, subject to change). In real terms the increase is smaller, around 4.3% in the latest year, because inflation and pay account for much of the cash growth.
Does council spending mean my care would be free?
Not usually. In England, help depends on a means test, with an upper capital limit of £23,250 and a lower limit of £14,250 (DHSC charging circular 2025 to 2026, as at July 2026, subject to change). Someone with capital above the upper limit is generally expected to pay the full cost, so many people meet some or all of their care fees themselves.
Can I give away assets to avoid care fees?
Deliberately giving away assets to reduce a care charge can be treated by the council as deprivation of assets, in which case it may assess you as if you still held them (DHSC charging circular 2025 to 2026, as at July 2026). So such gifts can be challenged and may not achieve their aim. Care fees planning that seeks to limit or mitigate impact within the rules is best discussed with a qualified professional.
How many people receive council-funded care?
At 31 March 2025, around 672,000 people in England were receiving long-term adult social care arranged or funded by councils, of whom about 396,000 were aged 65 and over (DHSC activity report, 2024-25, as at July 2026, subject to change). These totals exclude people who arrange and pay for care privately without going through their local authority.
How do care costs relate to inheritance tax?
They are separate. Care fees are charged under the social care means test, while inheritance tax applies to an estate on death, with a nil-rate band of £325,000 per person (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change). Care costs can reduce the value of an estate over time, which is one reason many people consider both together, generally with advice from a suitably qualified professional.
About Fairchild Oldfield
The Fairchild Oldfield team brings together estate planning, tax, independent financial advice and client care, working with families across England and Wales.
Fairchild Oldfield are estate planning specialists and will writers, not a firm of solicitors. This article is general information based on practical experience, not legal, tax or financial advice.
Important: This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Reading it does not create a professional relationship. It is based on the law and statistics of England, and other UK jurisdictions may differ. Figures are as at July 2026 and are subject to change, and official statistics may be revised. Before acting, many people choose to seek advice from a suitably qualified professional, such as a solicitor, a STEP practitioner, an accountant, or an FCA-authorised financial adviser, who can consider your individual circumstances.
