Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what monitoring arrangements are in place to evaluate the effectiveness or otherwise of integrated care boards in discharging their responsibility for determining the level of locally NHS-funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care.

The Department is in ongoing discussions with NHS England about oversight and accountability of palliative and end of life care commissioning in the National Health Service. NHS England has agreed to include palliative and end of life care in the list of topics for its regular performance discussions between national and regional leads. The regional quality and performance meetings will provide an additional mechanism for supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to continue to improve palliative and end of life care for their local population.

Whilst the detail of the key points for palliative and end of life care are still being discussed, this is likely to include: improved access to care through increased identification of patients likely to be in the last year of life, using the GP Palliative Care Register; improved quality of care, including progression towards around-the-clock access to specialist palliative care advice for staff; and improved experience of care through an improved percentage of patients being offered a personalised care and support plan and advance care plan for those identified. These national meetings will provide an additional mechanism for supporting ICBs to continue to improve palliative and end of life care for their local population.