Hospices: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the funding model for hospices in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant. In 2024/25 and 2025/26, this funding was administered via integrated care boards in line with National Health Service devolution.
The Department and NHS England are looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care, including hospice provision, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, including from hospices, to ensure that the future state of services reduces variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required changes to palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams. Hospices will play an important role in that shift.
The Department and NHS England will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, to understand the issues and pressures they face.
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