This paper explores whether homecare fee rates in England are linked to two structural factors: deprivation and councils’ ability to raise money through council tax. It also considers whether the political pattern identified in our Homecare Deficit 2025 report may reflect these underlying factors rather than political control alone.
The analysis finds:
- Councils with lower fee rates are more likely to be in more deprived areas, and Labour-run councils are disproportionately represented in these areas.
- There is a statistically significant but weak relationship between deprivation and average homecare fee rates. Deprivation alone explains only a small part of the variation in fees.
- There is a moderate relationship between council tax requirement and fee rates. Councils that need to raise more through council tax often pay higher average fee rates.
- However, council tax requirement reflects how much councils need to raise locally, not how easily they can raise it. It is therefore only a partial indicator of financial capacity.
- Wider factors - including commissioning practices and local market conditions - are also likely to play an important role in fee rate variation.
Overall, the findings indicate that while deprivation and council tax requirement are associated with fee levels, they only explain some of the variation observed. We suggest it is too simplistic to attribute low fee rates solely to political control.
Click below to read the report.
Homecare Deficit 2025 - deprivation and council tax
