Funded nursing care (FNC) rate 2026/27: what it pays a nursing home and where the electricity bill sits against it

The funded nursing care (FNC) rate for 2026/27 is £267.68 a week at the standard rate in England, up from £254.06 in 2025/26. The NHS pays it to the nursing home, not to the resident, for each eligible resident, from 1 April 2026. This guide sets out the rate, who it is paid for, how it differs from NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), and where a nursing home’s electricity bill sits against it.

The FNC rate for 2026/27

• Standard rate from 1 April 2026: £267.68 a week (2025/26: £254.06), an increase of £13.62 a week, or 5.4%.
• Higher rate from 1 April 2026: £368.24 a week (2025/26: £349.50). It applies only to people who moved into a care home before 1 October 2007 and were on the previous high band.

At the standard rate, £267.68 a week over 52 weeks is £13,919.36 a year for each eligible resident. The rates are for England. They were published by the government on 9 March 2026 (GOV.UK) and are confirmed on the NHS page on NHS-funded nursing care. The last two rates were announced in March, on 4 March 2025 and 9 March 2026; this page will be updated when the 2027/28 rate is published.

Who FNC is paid for, and how it differs from CHC

FNC is for a person who lives in a nursing home, is not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare and has been assessed as needing care from a registered nurse. The NHS pays a flat rate directly to the home towards the cost of that nursing care. The NHS says a person should be assessed for CHC first, and could move to CHC instead of FNC.

FNC is a contribution towards nursing care, not the whole fee. For placements arranged by an integrated care board or a council, the rest of the rate is agreed with that commissioner; for self-funded residents the provider sets the fee. How CHC eligibility is assessed is set out in NHS England’s national framework, which this page does not summarise.

Where the electricity bill sits against the FNC rate

No FNC or commissioner rate is linked to a nursing home’s energy costs. FNC is a single national figure, commissioned rates are agreed locally, and neither moves when a home’s electricity bill does. For the beds funded this way, a change in electricity costs falls on the home’s margin unless the rate is renegotiated.

For context, the UK average non-domestic electricity price was 24.14p per kWh including the Climate Change Levy in the first quarter of 2026, down 6.2% on a year earlier (DESNZ, Quarterly Energy Prices, published 30 June 2026). A home’s own tariff will differ, so use your own bills.

A simple way to see the position for your own home: take the last twelve months’ electricity cost, divide it by the number of beds and then by 52 to get the weekly electricity cost per bed, and set that beside your weekly fee income per bed. Every kilowatt-hour generated on site and used on site is one you do not buy from the grid, so on-site solar reduces that line without a change to any fee.

How much that is worth depends on the roof, the load and the tariff. Nursing home solar cost per bed shows what drives the price, are solar panels worth it for a nursing home works through the payback arithmetic, and the nursing home solar calculator gives an indicative estimate from beds and annual spend. Nursing home solar grants covers the funding routes and the public schemes a private home cannot use.

Questions about the FNC rate

What is the funded nursing care rate for 2026/27?

The standard rate is £267.68 a week from 1 April 2026, up from £254.06. A higher rate of £368.24 a week applies only to people who moved into a care home before 1 October 2007 and were on the previous high band. The rates are for England.

Who receives the FNC payment?

The NHS pays it directly to the nursing home, not to the resident, as a flat rate towards the cost of nursing care.

Is FNC the same as NHS Continuing Healthcare?

No. FNC is for people who are not eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare but need care from a registered nurse. A person should be assessed for Continuing Healthcare first, and could move to it instead of FNC.

Does FNC cover a nursing home’s energy costs?

No. It is a flat national contribution towards nursing care and does not change with a home’s electricity bill or any other running cost.

When will the 2027/28 rate be published?

It has not been announced. The last two rates were announced in March for a 1 April start, and this page will be updated when the next one is published.

To ask a question about solar for your own home, send an enquiry and we reply by email.