Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the role of hospices in providing care in communities.

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 palliative and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift.

Whilst the majority of palliative 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.