Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of applying a currency model to the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services.

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 must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care.

A suite of new community service currency models, including for palliative and end of life care in children and adults, have been developed and published in the 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme. Further information on the new community service currency models and the 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme is available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/25-26NHSPS-Community-Currency-Guidance.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2025-26-nhs-payment-scheme/

Currency models will help us to understand:

• the needs and complexity of our populations, allowing us to develop services around these needs;
• the resources, care contacts, and costs of supporting patients to meet these needs; and
• quality indicators and outcome measures to understand the effects of the care provided.

Combining these three elements provides an understanding of the overall value, and will support the achievement of the Government’s priorities for palliative care and end of life care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of palliative and end of life care on patients; and how the 10 year plan will ensure that there is adequate provision of these services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No formal assessment has been made on the impact of palliative care and end of life care on patients, but we know that currently approximately 600,000 people die per year in the United Kingdom. Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care provision.

Whilst it is too soon to say what will be in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department is investing £3 million through the National Institute for Health and Care Research in a new Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit launched in January 2024 and will build the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role his Department plans for hospices to play in shifting care into the community.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones.

In February, I met with key palliative care and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether long-term reform hospice care funding will be included in the NHS 10-year plan.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan will set out how the Government will fix our broken National Health Service. Too many people, towards the end of their lives, are not receiving the support and care they deserve, and we know that waiting times for services are far too long. We are determined to change that, by changing the way services operate, rather than by simply funding more of the same.

Whilst it is too soon to say what will be in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are continuing to support the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for 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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will provide guidance to Integrated Care Boards on the minimum provision of palliative care that should be available for hospices in their area.

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) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones.

To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. It is included in the statutory guidance that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include the hospice services available within the ICB’s catchment area.

Found: Q10 Mr James Frith: Mark, you started with a list.

Found: Q10 Mr James Frith: Mark, you started with a list.

Found: Q10 Mr James Frith: Mark, you started with a list.

Found: Taylor Dame Meg Hillier Jim Allister Sir Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Gilmour Danny Kruger Mr James Frith

Found: Taylor Dame Meg Hillier Jim Allister Sir Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Gilmour Danny Kruger Mr James Frith

Found: 2025 Dame Meg Hillier Jim Allister Sir Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Gilmour Danny Kruger Mr James Frith

Found: Taylor Dame Meg Hillier Jim Allister Sir Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Gilmour Danny Kruger Mr James Frith

Found: Taylor Dame Meg Hillier Jim Allister Sir Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Gilmour Danny Kruger Mr James Frith

Found: Taylor Dame Meg Hillier Jim Allister Sir Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Gilmour Danny Kruger Mr James Frith

Found: Taylor Dame Meg Hillier Jim Allister Sir Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Gilmour Danny Kruger Mr James Frith