Care Home Provider - Fees For New Four-Year Contract (2026 - 2030)

Introduction and purpose

North Tyneside Council is undertaking this consultation as part of the fee-setting process for a new four-year care home contract currently being developed by the council, covering the period 2026–2030.

The council recognises the vital role that care home providers play in delivering high-quality residential and nursing care to local residents and acknowledges the ongoing financial, workforce and operational pressures facing the sector.

The purpose of this consultation is to gather views, intelligence and evidence from care home providers to inform fee setting for the new contract, including current and anticipated cost pressures, workforce challenges (including pay and on-costs), market sustainability and the impact of existing fee levels.  

For the purposes of this consultation, the council has calculated a standard interim fee uplift of 4% from April 2026, based on the final National Living Wage increase of 4.1% and the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3.8% as key cost drivers for the care home sector. To provide clarity and certainty, the council proposes to apply a rounded uplift of 4% from April 2026, ensuring that providers are not disadvantaged or adversely impacted from the start of the financial year. Any further increase linked to the new 2026–2030 contract will be considered separately and, where agreed, will be backdated to the commencement of the new contract.

Please provide your views by completing the survey below. 

In person sessions with providers will be held on 17 March 2026, 23 March 2026 and 31 March 2026. Further details will follow.

Note that all responses to this survey will be dealt with in accordance with our privacy notice which can be found here Privacy Statement

If you have any questions or need us to do anything differently (reasonable adjustments) to help you take part in this survey, including providing this information in another language or format, please contact commissioning@northtyneside.gov.uk

Please submit your responses by 16 March 2026.