If your mum or dad is moving into a nursing home, you may spot a line on the fee breakdown that nobody has quite explained: NHS-funded nursing care, often shortened to FNC. It’s a weekly payment from the NHS towards the cost of the registered nursing someone receives in a care home, and from April 2026 it’s worth £267.68 a week.
It isn’t the same as NHS Continuing Healthcare, it doesn’t cover the whole bill, and it’s paid to the care home rather than to you. But it isn’t means-tested, it applies to people paying for their own care as well as those funded by the council, and over a year it adds up to almost £14,000. Here’s how it works in England, who qualifies, and what to check before you sign a care home contract.
The short answer: NHS-funded nursing care is a flat weekly payment of £267.68 (from 1 April 2026) that the NHS pays directly to a nursing home towards the cost of care from registered nurses. You can get it if you live in a care home that provides nursing, have been assessed as needing a registered nurse, and don’t qualify for full NHS Continuing Healthcare, whatever your income or savings.
Care homes in England broadly come in two types. Residential care homes provide personal care, such as help with washing, dressing, eating and moving around. Nursing homes provide all of that too, but also have qualified nurses on duty 24 hours a day. Our guide to the difference between a care home and a nursing home explains more.
Nursing homes cost more because of that nursing input. Nursing is a health service, and NHS health care is free at the point of use, so the NHS contributes towards the registered nursing part of the care. The rest of the fee, which covers accommodation, meals and personal care, is paid either by the resident or by the council, depending on the financial assessment.
The rate is set each year by the Department of Health and Social Care and is the same across England. The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed the 2026/27 rates, which apply from 1 April 2026:
Almost everyone receives the standard rate. The higher rate is only for people who moved into a care home before 1 October 2007, were on the old “high band” of the previous three-band system, and still have that level of need. Nobody new can move onto the higher rate, and anyone whose needs reduce moves to the standard rate.
Over a year, the standard rate is worth almost £14,000, though that’s only part of a typical nursing home fee. Our care home cost calculator gives a quick idea of what you could be paying in your area.
You’re likely to be eligible if all three of these apply:
It isn’t means-tested. Your income, your savings and whether you own a home make no difference. If you pay the full cost of your care yourself, you’re entitled to it in exactly the same way as someone whose place is funded by the council.
It only applies in care homes that provide nursing. Someone living in a residential home who needs occasional nursing, or someone receiving care in their own home, will have that nursing provided by NHS community or district nurses instead.
The NHS should look at whether someone is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) before deciding on NHS-funded nursing care. CHC is the bigger entitlement. If someone has a “primary health need”, the NHS pays for all of their care, including accommodation and personal care, not just the nursing element.
In practice, a CHC checklist is usually completed when someone moves into a nursing home or leaves hospital. If they don’t go forward to a full assessment, or are found not to be eligible, a registered nurse then decides whether they need nursing care. Most people don’t need a separate assessment for FNC. The NHS guide to NHS-funded nursing care sets out the process.
If your relative’s needs are complex, unpredictable or getting worse, it’s worth asking whether CHC has been properly considered. Our guide to NHS Continuing Healthcare explains how the assessment works and how to challenge a decision.
The payment is made by your local Integrated Care Board (ICB), the NHS body responsible for health services in your area, and it goes straight to the care home. You won’t receive it yourself.
So check how the care home shows it on the contract and invoice. Nursing homes usually set one overall weekly fee that includes nursing. The FNC payment should then be deducted, or shown as paid by the NHS, so you only pay the balance.
A simple example: if a nursing home’s total fee is £1,400 a week and the NHS pays £267.68 in FNC, a resident paying for their own care should be invoiced for £1,132.32 a week.
Some homes quote fees with FNC already taken off and others don’t, so compare like with like. Useful questions to ask:
Eligibility should be reviewed within three months of the first decision, and then normally at least once a year. Every review should also consider whether the person’s needs have increased enough to look at Continuing Healthcare again.
Payments stop if someone no longer needs care from a registered nurse, moves out of a nursing home, or becomes eligible for CHC. During a hospital stay the payment pauses, because the hospital is providing the nursing, and it restarts when they return. The ICB can consider paying a retainer to help keep the place open.
For people whose care is arranged by the council, FNC is paid on top of what the council pays the home, and the council’s financial assessment still applies to the rest of the fee. In England in 2026/27, anyone with more than £23,250 in capital pays the full cost of the non-nursing part of their care themselves. Between £14,250 and £23,250 the council contributes, and below £14,250 savings are ignored and you contribute from income only.
Because the payment goes to the home and not to you, it doesn’t count as your income or savings. If the cost of care means you’re thinking about the family home, our guide on whether you have to sell your house to pay for a care home explains the property rules.
Is NHS-funded nursing care means-tested?
No. It’s based purely on whether you need care from a registered nurse and live in a nursing home. Your income and savings make no difference, so self-funders receive it too.
Is FNC paid to me or to the care home?
It’s paid by your local Integrated Care Board directly to the care home. You should see it deducted from your fees, or shown on your invoice as paid by the NHS.
Can I get NHS-funded nursing care in a residential care home?
No. It only applies in care homes registered to provide nursing care. Residents of residential homes receive any nursing they need from NHS community nurses.
What’s the difference between FNC and NHS Continuing Healthcare?
FNC is a fixed weekly contribution towards the nursing part of a care home fee. Continuing Healthcare pays for all of someone’s care, including accommodation, when they have a primary health need.
Do I need to apply for FNC?
Usually not. It’s normally decided as part of the Continuing Healthcare process. If your relative is in a nursing home and hasn’t been assessed, contact your local ICB and ask for an assessment.
Funding a nursing home is easier to plan when you understand every part of the bill. Our guide to NHS Continuing Healthcare explains when the NHS pays for everything, and our guide to paying for care covers the wider means test. Use our care home cost calculator to estimate weekly fees, then search Wiserr’s directory to find nursing homes near you.
Legal disclaimer: This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute financial, legal or medical advice. Rates, thresholds and NHS policies can change and may be applied differently by local Integrated Care Boards. Always check current guidance with your local ICB or council, and speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions about care funding.
