Social Services: Fees and Charges

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes negotiating fees individually with care providers to achieve a sustainable balance of quality, effectiveness, and value for money.

The Department recognises that sustainable fee rates play a crucial role in improving the quality of care. Appropriate fee rates enable providers to recruit and retain a skilled workforce, ultimately supporting more stable, higher quality services for people who draw on care.

In December 2025, the Department launched a new publication, Adult social care priorities for local authorities: 2026 to 2027. The publication lists expectations for local authorities to help drive their delivery of the Government’s overall priorities for adult social care. It states that local authorities should, ‘set fee rates at a sustainable level, in line with commissioning priorities, to help shape markets and enable adult social care providers to recruit a skilled workforce and stabilise and improve workforce capacity, and in preparation for employment rights reforms, starting from financial year 2026, and the fair pay agreement, starting in financial year 2028’. Further information on the fair pay agreement is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fair-pay-agreement-process-in-adult-social-care

The publication is not statutory guidance, nor is it a replacement for local authorities’ existing statutory duties under the Care Act 2014, rather the expectations outlined in the publication are designed to help support local authorities in delivering their current statutory duties.