Found: The Committee will know that I am co-chair of the APPG on hospice and end of life care; I have also

Found: Equality in hospice and end of life care: challenges and changePage 2 of 83.

Found: Hospice UK’s 2021 report, Equality in hospice and end of life care: Challenges and change34 details

Found: www.england.nhs.uk/eolc/ 10 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/31/section/21 11 Equality in hospice

Found: This true story illustrates several points about the limitations of palliative, hospice and end of life

Found: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.10.021 Hospice UK (2001) Equality in Hospice and End of Life

Found: Equality in hospice and end of life care: challenges and change. https://hukstage-new-●Inequalities

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she (a) has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report of the APPG for Hospice and End of Life care entitled Government funding for hospices, published in January 2024 and (b) plans to take steps in response to the findings in that report.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is already taking actions which will address many of the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care report.

As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services that an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, which will ensure a more consistent national approach and support commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.

In July 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance and service specifications for commissioners on palliative and end of life care, setting out the considerations for ICBs in order to meet their legal duties. The guidance makes specific reference to commissioners defining how their services will meet population needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life, and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the ICB footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.

NHS England has 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 their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.

Additionally, as of April 2024, NHS England will include palliative and end of life care in the list of topics for regular performance discussions between national and regional leads. These meetings will provide an additional mechanism for supporting ICBs to continue to improve palliative and end of life care for their local population.

The Government have also provided additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, who employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts. Organisations were able to apply for the funding and needed to show they had been negatively financially impacted by the pay deal, and that their staff are employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the APPG for Hospice and End of Life Care entitled Government funding for hospices, to be published in February 2024.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is already taking actions which will address many of the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s report. As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, which will ensure a more consistent national approach and support commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.

The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the ICB footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide, and consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.

NHS England has commissioned the development of 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 their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities and ensure that funding is distributed fairly based on prevalence.

In July 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance and service specifications for commissioners on palliative and end of life care, setting out the considerations for ICBs to meet their legal duties. The guidance makes specific reference to commissioners defining how their services will meet population needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Government have also provided additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, who employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts. Organisations were able to apply for the funding and needed to show they had been negatively financially impacted by the pay deal, and that their staff are employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the findings in the report The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care, published on 1 March, what plans they have to conduct a review of hospice funding in England.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no current plans by NHS England to conduct a review of hospice funding. Integrated care boards have a legal duty to consider the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services that meet the needs of their population.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement, published on 1 March, what assessment they have made of innovations in the administration of palliative care medication that were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have to roll out any of these innovations more widely.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

While no specific assessment of the innovations in the administration of palliative care medication has been made, the Government and NHS England both recognise the importance of timely access to palliative and end of life care medicines for patients and those important to them. Clinicians should provide details of who can administer the medicine, ensuring they follow local guidance and consider national best practice.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement, published on 1 March, what steps they will take to address the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) the workforce in the health and social care sector, (2) families and unpaid carers, and (3) communities.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has commissioned NHS England to develop a Long Term Workforce Plan for the National Health Service. Additionally, steps have been taken to deliver the 50,000 nurses commitment by providing a financial support package.

To reduce waiting lists in community health, the Government is allocating core funding growth for community health services, investing £8 million this financial year to provide training to support community staff, and on track to reach our commitment of 200,000 personal health budgets by March 2024. Furthermore, the publication of the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan will work to scale up community teams.

The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers. Additionally, funding for respite and short breaks for carers is included in the NHS contribution to the Better Care Fund.

Found: Hospice UK is the national charity for hospice and end of life care.