From 1 April 2026, NHS-funded nursing care (often called FNC) in England is paid at £267.68 a week. That is up from £254.06, a rise of 5.4%. A higher rate of £368.24 a week, up from £349.50, applies only to people who were already on the old high band when the three-band system ended on 30 September 2007. The NHS pays the care home directly. It is not paid to the resident or to the family.
NHS-funded nursing care is often confused with NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), but they are different things. Nursing care funding is a flat-rate contribution towards the cost of a registered nurse in a care home with nursing. CHC is care arranged and funded entirely by the NHS for people with a primary health need. The rules also say CHC must be considered first. This guide sets the two side by side. It covers England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements and rates.
NHS-funded nursing care rates for 2026/27
| Rate | From 1 April 2026 | Previous rate (2025/26) | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat rate | £267.68 a week | £254.06 a week | Most people who qualify |
| High band | £368.24 a week | £349.50 a week | Only people on the high band under the old three-band system, which ended on 30 September 2007 |
The rates are set in regulation 20(1) of the Standing Rules Regulations 2012. They were changed by SI 2026/207, which was made on 3 March 2026 and came into force on 1 April 2026. The Department of Health and Social Care announced the 5.4% rise on 9 March 2026 and said it would support around 80,000 people.
Since 2007 there has been a single national rate, amended each financial year and the same across England. Over 52 weeks the flat rate comes to £13,919.36, although payment is only made for weeks when the person qualifies and is living in the home. It is not paid while the person is in hospital, although the ICB should consider paying an equivalent sum as a retainer to hold the place.
What is the FNC high band?
The high band is the higher weekly rate, £368.24 from 1 April 2026. It is a legacy of the three-band system that ended on 30 September 2007. Only people who were on the high band then, and who still qualify, keep it. It is not available to new residents, and people who are reviewed and found to have lower needs move to the flat rate.
NHS-funded nursing care and NHS Continuing Healthcare side by side
| NHS-funded nursing care | NHS Continuing Healthcare | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A flat-rate NHS payment towards care by a registered nurse | A package of ongoing care arranged and funded solely by the NHS |
| The test | A need for care from a registered nurse, with overall needs best met in a care home with nursing | A primary health need, found through the Checklist and Decision Support Tool or through Fast Track |
| Where | Only in a care home that provides nursing | Any setting, including the person's own home, a care home or a hospice |
| What the NHS pays for | Registered nurse time only. Not care assistants, other non-nursing care or accommodation | All assessed health and associated social care needs, including accommodation where that is part of the overall need |
| Who receives the money | The care home, paid direct by the ICB | The ICB arranges and funds the whole package |
| Who pays the rest of the fee | The resident, their representative or the local authority | The NHS funds the assessed needs in full |
| Income and savings | Not part of the test | Not part of the decision |
| Assessment | A nursing needs assessment, after CHC has been considered | The Checklist, then a multidisciplinary team using the Decision Support Tool (Fast Track is a separate quicker route) |
| Review | Within three months, then usually at least annually, with CHC considered again | Within three months of the decision, then at least annually |
| 2026/27 value | £267.68 a week (£368.24 high band) | The cost of the care package |
The practical difference is large. Nursing care funding covers a defined slice of a nursing home fee. CHC, where a person is eligible, means the NHS takes responsibility for the whole assessed package. A primary health need means the main aspects or majority part of the care required is focused on addressing or preventing health needs. Eligibility is not decided by the setting or by a diagnosis, and financial issues are not part of the decision.
Why CHC comes first
The National Framework says that in all cases a person should be considered for CHC before any decision is made about NHS-funded nursing care. CHC eligibility must be considered, and a decision made and recorded at either the Checklist stage or the Decision Support Tool stage, before nursing care funding is decided.
In practice that means:
- A negative Checklist does not rule out nursing care funding. It means the person does not need a full CHC assessment at that point. Whether they need a registered nurse in a care home is then decided separately, on a nursing needs assessment.
- A positive Checklist leads to a full assessment. A multidisciplinary team looks at the person's needs and completes the Decision Support Tool. The Checklist has a low threshold on purpose, and a positive result does not mean eligibility. See the MDT meeting for what happens next.
- The outcome should be given in writing. If a move to a nursing home is being proposed, it is reasonable to ask whether CHC has been considered and to ask for the Checklist outcome and its reasons in writing.
This matters because becoming eligible for CHC ends nursing care funding. The NHS then funds the whole assessed package, including the nursing, so the person no longer needs a separate contribution towards it.
Preparing for a CHC assessment?
Before the multidisciplinary team meets, our system can write one care domain from your own description of the person's needs, as a free preview.
Try the free preview →Who qualifies for NHS-funded nursing care
If someone is not eligible for CHC, their need for registered nursing may still need to be decided. They qualify for NHS-funded nursing care when two things are both true:
- they have a need for care from a registered nurse, and
- it is decided that their overall needs would be most appropriately met in a care home with nursing.
The decision rests on a nursing needs assessment, which sets out the person's day-to-day care and support needs. The NHS website says most people do not need a separate nursing care assessment, but that the ICB can arrange one if you have not had one. Registered nursing time is counted broadly: direct and indirect nursing time, planning, supervising or delegating care, paid breaks and stand-by time all count. The time of care assistants does not.
- Residential homes without nursing are not paid. Residents there get nursing from community NHS nurses such as district nurses, so the home does not receive the payment.
- Self-funders can qualify. The NHS pays its contribution towards registered nursing costs whoever pays the rest of the fees. Eligibility turns on assessed nursing need and the type of care home, not on income or savings.
- The NHS pays, not the council. Section 22 of the Care Act 2014 stops local authorities providing or arranging nursing care by a registered nurse, apart from very limited circumstances.
How the payment works and what it means for nursing home fees
The NHS contribution to nursing home fees follows a set pattern. A care home with nursing sets one overall fee for care and accommodation, which includes any registered nursing it provides. Where the ICB has assessed that a resident needs a registered nurse, it pays the nursing care payment at the national rate direct to the home, unless there is an agreement for it to be paid through a third party such as a local authority. The balance of the fee is then paid by the resident, their representative or the local authority, unless other contracting arrangements have been agreed.
The payment does not cover care assistants, other non-nursing care or accommodation. If the council is paying part of the fee, it uses its own financial assessment for its share, which is separate from the NHS payment.
Worth checking if you are paying fees:
- The contract. Age UK advises asking the home to explain how your fees take account of the nursing care payment, and checking what the contract says if the rate changes.
- The invoice. Ask where the nursing care payment appears, so you can see the NHS contribution and the balance you pay.
- Hospital stays and death. The framework says contracts should be transparent and fair, including what happens if a resident is admitted to hospital or dies.
When nursing care funding stops or changes
A person keeps receiving NHS-funded nursing care until one of four things happens:
- a review finds they no longer need any registered nursing care
- they are no longer living in a care home that provides registered nursing care
- they become eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare
- they die.
People on the high band keep it on the same terms. If a review finds that their needs have changed so that, under the old three-band system, they would have moved to the medium or low band, they are moved to the flat rate. Regulation 30 of the Standing Rules says the ICB must first give written notice of the review outcome to the person (and their representative, where appropriate) and to the care home, and the flat rate can start no sooner than 14 days, counting from the day that notice is given.
If a resident goes into hospital, the home does not receive the payment during the stay, but the NHS practice guidance says ICBs should consider paying an equivalent sum as a retainer to protect the place. A short stay of under six weeks in a care home with nursing, for example for respite care, a trial period or an emergency, can qualify for an urgent nursing care payment.
Reviews and CHC
Nursing care needs should be reviewed within three months of the original decision and usually at least annually afterwards. At every review, potential CHC eligibility must be considered again, normally through a Checklist and, where needed, a full assessment.
A repeat is not needed where a previous Checklist or Decision Support Tool found the person not eligible and there has clearly been no material change in their needs. That must be recorded, and the person or their representative should be told, given a copy of the annotated tool and shown how to ask for a review of the outcome. If a new Checklist shows a full assessment is needed, the normal process follows.
If you are not eligible for CHC
A person who is not eligible for CHC may still have some needs that the council cannot lawfully meet on its own. The framework describes a joint package of care in that situation, funded by both the NHS and the local authority, and it can be provided in any setting. In a joint package the NHS-funded services are free, while the social care part is still means-tested, as Age UK explains. The ICB and the council agree who is responsible for what, based on the needs the Decision Support Tool identified.
If you disagree with a CHC decision, every ICB must have a local resolution process, and an independent review can follow. See what to do if CHC is refused. If the person is nearing the end of life, the separate Fast Track route may apply.
The numbers
| Measure (England) | Figure |
|---|---|
| People receiving NHS-funded nursing care, 31 March 2026 | 78,710 |
| People eligible for CHC, 31 March 2026 | 51,194 (33,475 standard and 17,719 Fast Track) |
| Standard CHC assessments completed in 2025/26 | 50,402 |
| Of those, found eligible | 8,776 (17.4%) |
NHS England's latest figures, for the first quarter of 2026/27, show 78,974 people receiving nursing care funding and 52,141 eligible for CHC. More people receive nursing care funding than CHC, so the difference between the two affects a great many families.
What to do next
- If a nursing home move is being discussed, ask whether CHC has been considered and ask for the Checklist outcome in writing.
- If the Checklist is positive, learn what the multidisciplinary team meeting involves and how the 12 care domains are assessed.
- If CHC is not awarded, ask for the nursing needs assessment if one has not been done, and check how the home's contract shows the nursing care payment.
- If you disagree with a CHC decision, see local resolution and independent review.
- If the person is rapidly deteriorating and may be nearing the end of life, read about Fast Track.
Common questions
How much is NHS-funded nursing care in 2026/27?
£267.68 a week from 1 April 2026, up from £254.06. People on the old high band receive £368.24 a week, up from £349.50. The rates are set in regulation 20(1) of the Standing Rules Regulations 2012 by SI 2026/207, a rise of 5.4%.
Does FNC go to the resident or the care home?
The care home. The ICB pays the flat rate direct to the home, unless there is an agreement for it to be paid through a third party such as a local authority. It is not paid to the resident or their family, and the rest of the fee is paid by the resident, their representative or the council.
Can you get FNC and CHC together?
No. Becoming eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare ends nursing care funding, because the NHS then funds all of the person's assessed health and associated social care needs, including nursing.
Do you get FNC in a residential home without nursing?
No. NHS-funded nursing care is paid only to care homes that provide nursing. Residents of residential homes receive nursing from community NHS nurses such as district nurses, so those homes are not paid the contribution.
Is FNC means-tested?
No. It is a flat-rate NHS payment, and eligibility depends on assessed nursing need and the type of care home, not on income or savings. The rest of the fee may be paid by the resident or by a council, which uses its own financial assessment.
Should CHC be assessed before FNC?
Yes. The National Framework says CHC eligibility must be considered, and a decision made and recorded at Checklist or Decision Support Tool stage, before any decision on nursing care funding. A negative Checklist does not rule out FNC, which is then decided on a nursing needs assessment.
What is the FNC high band?
A higher weekly rate, £368.24 from 1 April 2026, for people who were on the high band under the three-band system that ended on 30 September 2007 and still qualify. It is not available to new residents. If a review shows needs have fallen, the person moves to the flat rate after written notice.
- Legislation: SI 2026/207, The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (made 3 March 2026, in force 1 April 2026).
- Legislation: Standing Rules Regulations 2012, regulation 20 (flat rate and high band payments) and regulation 30 (high band payments and notice).
- Department of Health and Social Care: Better community care thanks to nursing funding boost (press release, 9 March 2026).
- Department of Health and Social Care: National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care (July 2022, revised and corrected July 2023), pages 9, 24 and 85 to 88.
- Department of Health and Social Care: NHS-funded nursing care practice guidance (2022).
- NHS website: NHS-funded nursing care (reviewed 20 May 2024; rates for 2026/27 shown).
- Age UK: Factsheet 20, NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded nursing care (July 2026), section 14.
- NHS England: NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care statistics, national time series Q1 2017/18 to Q1 2026/27 (published August 2026).
- Dorset Council: What is NHS continuing healthcare? (confirms nursing care funding is not means tested).