Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the report by Together for Short Lives Overstretched and unfunded: the state of children's hospice funding in 2025, published on 27 June, what assessment they have made of the variation in funding for children's hospice care provided by (1) North East London Integrated Care Board, and North Central London Integrated Care Board; and what steps they are taking to reduce any disparity.

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

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that the future state of services reduces variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.