Government agrees to review FNC rate following legal challenge

The government has agreed to review the Funded Nursing Care (FNC) rate for 2019/20 following a legal challenge by Care England.

The announcement by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) came after Care England threatened judicial review proceedings over the nursing subsidy with assistance from David Collins.

A DHSC spokesperson said: “The department has agreed to review the 2019/20 NHS-funded Nursing Care rate and any outcome will be announced in due course.”

The DHSC earlier this year announced a 4.7% hike in the FNC rate after raising the rate 2% in the previous year (see NHS funded nursing care rate to rise by 4.7%).

Care England’s legal challenge was based on concerns over the assumption that providers will not employ more than 10% nursing hours through agency nurses, that providers were capable of making efficiency savings of 3.1% and the calculation of inflation.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “We welcome the move by the DHSC to look again at the 2019/20 rate and we will ensure we participate openly and fully with the review.

“We hope this can be conducted speedily and a new rate decision made that increases the current rate to that which properly reflects the costs of providing nursing to many thousands of people living in nursing homes.”