Ministers have signed regulations to raise NHS-funded nursing care (FNC) rates in England from 1 April 2026. The instrument amends the 2012 Standing Rules so that NHS England and integrated care boards pay revised FNC amounts of £267.68 (flat rate) and £368.24 (high band).
The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/207) were made on 3 March 2026 and laid before Parliament on 4 March 2026. They come into force on 1 April 2026 and extend to England and Wales.
Regulation 2 substitutes the amounts in regulation 20 of the 2012 Standing Rules. The flat rate increases from £254.06 to £267.68 and the high band from £349.50 to £368.24. That is an uplift of £13.62 and £18.74 respectively, or around 5.36 percent in each case.
The Standing Rules set mandatory requirements for NHS England and integrated care boards under sections 6E and 272 of the National Health Service Act 2006. The accompanying note records the Health and Care Act 2022 changes that renamed the NHS Commissioning Board as NHS England and replaced clinical commissioning groups with integrated care boards, ensuring the obligations apply to those bodies.
For commissioners, the change provides a clear statutory basis to uprate FNC payments on and after 1 April 2026. Providers of nursing care should expect remittances and contracts to reflect the new figures once the instrument is in force, with any pro‑rata adjustments applied from commencement where required.
Although the regulations extend to England and Wales, they sit within the National Health Service, England, framework and amend the Standing Rules that apply to NHS England and integrated care boards. The policy effect is therefore in England.
The Department of Health and Social Care states that a full impact assessment has not been prepared, on the basis that no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.
The instrument is signed by Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, dated 3 March 2026.
The position for 2026/27 is straightforward: from 1 April 2026 NHS England and integrated care boards must apply the updated FNC rates of £267.68 for the flat rate and £368.24 for the high band when making payments under regulation 20 of the 2012 Standing Rules.