Business of the House

Monica Harding Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Nobody in this House campaigns harder on behalf of the industry than my hon. Friend, and I thank him for that. The Government have allocated more than £73 million in additional funding to deliver almost 500 zero emission buses across England. The mandate is a devolved matter, but we are working with the devolved Governments to ensure that meaningful engagement takes place ahead of the review. I will raise his concerns with the relevant Minister to see whether there is any further update that we can share with him.

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Princess Alice hospice in my constituency on celebrating its 40th anniversary this year? Over the past 40 years, it has cared for tens of thousands of people and has been a staple for local families at their most vulnerable. Only 20% of its funding comes from statutory NHS funding, with the rest mainly coming from selling woolly jumpers; as a result, it is able to meet only one third of the local need. Access to palliative care will come under scrutiny once again in the autumn. Will the Leader of the House make time to address sustainable funding for palliative care to ensure that provision for all is available?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank Princess Alice hospice for everything it does. Hospices in all our areas are so very important. I do understand its concern about having sustained funding going forward, but the Government have committed £125 million to support the hospice sector, with a further £26 million to support children and young people’s hospices. I suspect that the hon. Lady is right that this issue will come more into focus as private Member’s Bills come forward; I think she will get her opportunity then to make that case. In the meantime, if there is anything the Government can do to update the House about that, I am sure they will think about doing it.