Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to close the Fleming Fund and, if so, whether they have an alternative model for maintaining Britain's antimicrobial resistance commitments.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out at the Spring Statement, the Government is reducing its Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027 to respond to pressing security and defence challenges that the United Kingdom is facing. As a result, the Fleming Fund will close at the end of its current grant agreements by March 2026. The Government is committed to exiting the Fleming Fund responsibly. Each country context is different, and we are currently in discussions with governments and partners to ensure all possibilities of sustainability are explored. We are working through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used in future years, including future allocations for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) activities. This will be informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

Tackling AMR remains a priority for the Government and is vital for protecting our National Health Service, including via delivery of the UK National Action Plan on AMR, as laid out in the recent publication of the 10-Year Health Plan. Through global partnerships and diplomacy, the UK is working with our partners to drive robust implementation of the commitments from the Political Declaration, including on the importance of strengthening multisectoral surveillance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children's hospices receive equitable and sustainable long-term funding, in light of their role in delivering the 10-Year Health Plan.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

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. We cannot yet confirm what the funding for 2026/27 will be, or how it will be administered.

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 in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services 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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will review the way in which children's palliative care is currently planned and funded.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

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. We cannot yet confirm what the funding for 2026/27 will be, or how it will be administered.

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 in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services 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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will commit to ensuring that ringfenced NHS funding for children's hospices will be available for multiple years beyond 2025–26, and when they intend to make such a commitment.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

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. We cannot yet confirm what the funding for 2026/27 will be, or how it will be administered.

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 in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services 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.

Found: meeting Members present: Baroness Rock (The Chair); Lord Addington; Baroness Browning; Lord Crisp; Baroness Goudie