Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to support hospice funding to ensure (a) sustainability and (b) quality care in regions with limited alternatives.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing services within the National Health Service. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services that ICBs, including the Dorset ICB, which covers the West Dorset constituency, must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

NHS England has also developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of those their local population, thereby enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.

I have met NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. We, alongside key partners NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.

We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.