Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England and integrated care boards on supporting hospices facing financial pressures, including those serving mid-Essex.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB), including the NHS Mid and South Essex ICB, must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
The Government recognises the financial pressures facing hospices. In February, NHS England wrote to all ICBs requesting an update on the financial stability of hospices in their footprint as a matter of urgency, and the steps being taken to mitigate risks.
We also supported the hospice sector in England with a £125 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. From this funding stream, Farleigh Hospice in mid-Essex received £1,350,650 and Havens Hospices, which Little Havens Children’s Hospice is part of, received £1,287,240.
Furthermore, children and young people’s hospices received £26 million in revenue funding in 2025/26. This was a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the Children’s Hospice Grant. From this funding, Little Havens Children’s Hospice received £557,000.
In 2025/26, we announced the continuation of this funding for a further three financial years. This funding will see at least £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, covering 2026/27 to 2028/29, amounting to approximately £80 million over the three-year period.
Children and young people’s hospices and ICBs have recently been informed of their allocations for 2026/27, although we are not yet in a position to share those individual allocations publicly. Communication regarding future allocations, for 2027/28 and 2028/29, will be sent once the 2026/27 process is complete.
For the long-term, the Government is developing a Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care for England, with a planned publication date of autumn 2026. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. As part of the development of the MSF, we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to support hospices in the Braintree constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB), including the NHS Mid and South Essex ICB, must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
The Government recognises the financial pressures facing hospices. In February, NHS England wrote to all ICBs requesting an update on the financial stability of hospices in their footprint as a matter of urgency, and the steps being taken to mitigate risks.
We also supported the hospice sector in England with a £125 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. From this funding stream, Farleigh Hospice in mid-Essex received £1,350,650 and Havens Hospices, which Little Havens Children’s Hospice is part of, received £1,287,240.
Furthermore, children and young people’s hospices received £26 million in revenue funding in 2025/26. This was a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the Children’s Hospice Grant. From this funding, Little Havens Children’s Hospice received £557,000.
In 2025/26, we announced the continuation of this funding for a further three financial years. This funding will see at least £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, covering 2026/27 to 2028/29, amounting to approximately £80 million over the three-year period.
Children and young people’s hospices and ICBs have recently been informed of their allocations for 2026/27, although we are not yet in a position to share those individual allocations publicly. Communication regarding future allocations, for 2027/28 and 2028/29, will be sent once the 2026/27 process is complete.
For the long-term, the Government is developing a Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care for England, with a planned publication date of autumn 2026. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. As part of the development of the MSF, we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her department plans to put the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse on a statutory basis.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We laid the ‘Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse’ in Parliament on 25 February 2026 and it became statutory guidance on the 6 April 2026. It outlines the standards expected of local councils and other duty bodies (e.g. National Highways) with regards to their duty to keep their land clear of litter and refuse. The guidance can be found on: Code of practice on litter and refuse - GOV.UK.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to collect data on hospice bed capacity and service provision at a national level.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The majority of hospices are charitable, independent organisations and, therefore, the Government does not collect or keep data on hospice bed capacity nationally.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.
NHS England’s Medium-Term Planning Guidance makes clear that ICBs and relevant National Health Service providers should ensure an understanding of current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, which can include services provided by hospices.
The Government is developing a Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. As part of the MSF, we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 31, whether the Social Cohesion Measurement Framework will include English language proficiency.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Social Cohesion Measurement Framework will be available to local government, civil society and impact investors across England, to help them identify emerging tensions. Work on the framework is underway and we will publish fuller details in due course.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the 2013 Written Ministerial Statement advising local authorities against translating into foreign languages remains his department’s policy.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are clear that the ability to use and understand our shared language should be a fundamental basis for participating in society and an expectation of those who wish to call the UK home.
To support this, we are reviewing English language provision to identify best practice, and explore how innovation, including digital delivery, can increase the number of people able to speak English.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 28, whether the cross-government integration strategy will be published as a substantive policy or strategic document in its own right.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We will provide more detail of the cross-government integration strategy in due course.
The Social Cohesion Taskforce is an internal Civil Service team comprised of civil servants. Following existing precedent, we will not be identifying members.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 44, if he will name the members of the Social Cohesion Taskforce.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We will provide more detail of the cross-government integration strategy in due course.
The Social Cohesion Taskforce is an internal Civil Service team comprised of civil servants. Following existing precedent, we will not be identifying members.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 21, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of reductions in the requirements for statutory notices in local papers on the financial sustainability of local newspapers.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the Local Media Action Plan, we have outlined plans for a review of statutory notices. In this review, we intend to consult on whether action is needed to better ensure that communities have access to journalistic scrutiny of local decisionmaking.
We will launch a public consultation, to determine whether any changes to legislation are required, and our approach will be informed by the following principles, that we:
continue to drive transparency and accountability in local governance
serve all audiences
help ensure value for money to the local authorities and others required to publicise the information contained within statutory notices
maintain a link to journalistic scrutiny
foster innovation in the local media ecosystem and do not unfairly disadvantage local news outlets with a proven track record in public interest journalism regardless of whether they operate in print, online or both.
We will publish our planned timetable in the coming weeks.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2026, to Question 111691, on Valuation Office Agency: Conference, what domestic conferences the Valuation Office Agency has made presentations at since July 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 121728 on 27 March 2026.