Asked by: Baillie, Jackie (Scottish Labour - Dumbarton)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the hospice workforce is being considered in workforce planning and budgeting, including future discussions on NHS pay and awards.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The funding and commissioning of specialist and general palliative and end of life care services, including workforce planning and allocating resources for staffing, is a matter for Integration Joint Boards (IJBs). It is the responsibility of IJBs to plan and commission adult palliative and end of life care services for their areas using the integrated budgets under their control.
Scottish Government officials will continue to engage with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) and Scottish hospices in relation to supporting local planning, commissioning and resourcing of independent hospice care.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether integrated care boards (ICBs) have been informed of the details of the Children’s Hospice Grant for children’s palliative care, including (1) the amounts awarded to each ICB, and (2) the distribution method to be used.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England currently supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. Last year, NHS England confirmed that it will be renewing the funding for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This prevalence-based approach ensures funding matches local need. Funding will be distributed via integrated care boards (ICBs) in line with National Health Service devolution.
All ICBs in England, including those in the West Midlands, were notified of the amount of funding that each ICB will receive during week commencing 19 February 2024. Additionally, all ICBs in England, including those in the West Midlands, will be notified of the distribution method to be used very shortly.
The Department and NHS England hope to be able to provide the greater clarity that the sector is seeking on this important funding stream to children’s hospices in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when integrated care boards (ICB) in the West Midlands can expect to be informed of the details of the Children’s Hospice Grant for children’s palliative care, including (1) the amounts to each ICB, and (2) the distribution method to be used.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England currently supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. Last year, NHS England confirmed that it will be renewing the funding for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This prevalence-based approach ensures funding matches local need. Funding will be distributed via integrated care boards (ICBs) in line with National Health Service devolution.
All ICBs in England, including those in the West Midlands, were notified of the amount of funding that each ICB will receive during week commencing 19 February 2024. Additionally, all ICBs in England, including those in the West Midlands, will be notified of the distribution method to be used very shortly.
The Department and NHS England hope to be able to provide the greater clarity that the sector is seeking on this important funding stream to children’s hospices in the coming weeks.
Written Evidence Nov. 22 2023
Inquiry: Assisted dying/assisted suicideFound: ADY0116 - Assisted dying/assisted suicide Compassion and Choices Written Evidence
Written Evidence Nov. 29 2023
Inquiry: The rights of older peopleFound: ROP0041 - The rights of older people Marie Curie Written Evidence
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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.
Mentions:
1: Helen Whately (Con - Faversham and Mid Kent) All of us here recognise the importance of palliative and end of life care, which supports people at - Speech Link
2: Helen Whately (Con - Faversham and Mid Kent) palliative and end of life care. - Speech Link
3: Simon Jupp (Con - East Devon) palliative and end of life care. - Speech Link
Feb. 19 2008
Source Page: Better care, better lives. Improving outcomes and experiences for children, young people and their families living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. 54 p.Found: Better care, better lives.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to review the funding model for hospices for (i) children and young people and (ii) adults.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A review is not currently taking place. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service-funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.
While the NHS has always been required to commission appropriate palliative and end of life care services to meet the reasonable needs of the population, as part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an ICB must commission, to clarify this responsibility.
In June 2023, NHS England confirmed that it would be renewing the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million grant funding for children’s hospices in England. NHS England will communicate further details regarding the process for the grant allocations later this year.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has provided to hospices in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2020 NHS England has provided hospices with over £350 million nationally, to secure and increase National Health Service capacity and to support hospital discharge. In addition, since 2021/22, nearly £63 million has been provided to children’s hospices as part of the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. Separate, further investment in children and young people’s palliative and end of life care, including hospices, has also been made through the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment to match-fund clinical commissioning groups, and subsequently integrated care boards (ICBs), totalling over £23 million.