Around 80,000 people will be better supported in the community
following an increase in funding for nursing care.
Care homes providing tailored nursing care to patients in the
community will benefit from a funding rise of more than 5% to
provide specialist care for some of the most vulnerable.
This will help reduce the pressure on hospitals by preventing
unnecessary admissions and supporting the discharge of
individuals into social care settings to free up hospital beds.
The uplift means the standard weekly rate per person provided for
NHS-funded nursing care will increase from £254.06 to £267.68
from 1 April, with funding paid by the NHS directly to care homes
providing nursing care. The higher weekly rate will increase from
£349.50 to £368.24.
The increase in rates is backed by the funding made available for
2026/27 at the latest Spending Review and comes alongside a
series of measures the government has taken to improve adult
social care as it lays the foundation for a National Care
Service.
The government is committed to building a National Care Service
based on high-quality care, choice and control.
To deliver this the government is making an additional £4.6
billion in funding available to local authorities for 2028/29 -
compared to 2025/26 - for adult social care by the end of this
Parliament. This includes £500 million for the first ever fair
pay agreement for care workers.
In addition, the government has made £723 million for the
Disabled Facilities Grant for 2026/27 and provided both the
biggest uplift to the carer's allowance threshold since the 1970s
to support unpaid carers and the biggest increase to the Minimum
Income Guarantee in a decade, to support disabled adults with the
cost of living.
Baroness is chairing the Independent
Commission into adult social care as part of our critical steps
towards delivering a National Care Service. Her first
recommendations for reform are due to be published this year.
