Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to implement a sustainable funding model for independent adult hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have provided a £125 million capital funding boost for eligible adult, and children and young people’s, hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
Officials are working closely with a number of stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.
Additionally, the recently published Medium-Term Planning Guidance and the Model ICB Blueprint set out that ICBs should act as strategic commissioners with core functions including: understanding current and projected total service utilisation and costs; identifying underserved communities; assessing quality, performance, and productivity of existing provision; and significantly reducing avoidable unplanned hospital admissions.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of funding the full cost of specialist palliative care delivered by hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning core and specialist palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.
Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission core and specialist care more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
The recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium-Term Planning Guidance also make clear the expectations that ICBs should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.
Hospices provide both core and specialist palliative care. Whilst acknowledging that not everyone will need specialist palliative care, we must ensure is that there is equitable and timely access to these services, whether they are provided by hospices or the National Health Service.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the level of funding in hospice care in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, including the Somerset ICB, which covers the Yeovil constituency. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.
We are supporting the hospice sector with an initial £100 million investment and a recent additional £25 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. The full £125 million has now been allocated to 158 eligible hospices by Hospice UK, and I can confirm that St Margaret’s Hospice in the Yeovil constituency is receiving £986,184 from this capital funding.
The capital funding is helping hospices to provide the best end of life care to patients and their families in a supportive and dignified physical environment. Funding helps to support hospices and deliver much needed improvements including refurbishments, overhauling IT systems, and improving facilities for patients and visitors.
Additionally, children and young people’s hospices will receive £26 million in revenue funding this year. We have also confirmed the continuation of this funding stream, approximately totalling £80 million of revenue funding over the next three years, which will provide stability for the sector over that period.
More widely, the Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework. Contracting and commissioning arrangements will be considered as part of this work.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with Marie Curie on funding for the hospice sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Last year, I met key palliative care and end-of-life care stakeholders, including Marie Curie, in a roundtable format with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England, and we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of this work. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
Officials are working closely with Marie Curie and a number of other stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of funding the full cost of specialist palliative care delivered by hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.
Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
The recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium-Term Planning Guidance also make clear the expectations that ICBs should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.
Hospices provide both core and specialist palliative care. Whilst acknowledging that not everyone will need specialist palliative care, we must ensure is that there is equitable and timely access to these services, whether they are provided by hospices or the National Health Service.
While no specific assessment has been made of the cost of changes in the levels of funding to hospices on the wider healthcare system, as part of our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government will shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community. We recognise that it is vital to include palliative care and end-of-life care, including hospices, in this shift.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the cost of changes in the levels of funding to hospices on the wider healthcare system.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.
Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
The recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium-Term Planning Guidance also make clear the expectations that ICBs should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.
Hospices provide both core and specialist palliative care. Whilst acknowledging that not everyone will need specialist palliative care, we must ensure is that there is equitable and timely access to these services, whether they are provided by hospices or the National Health Service.
While no specific assessment has been made of the cost of changes in the levels of funding to hospices on the wider healthcare system, as part of our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government will shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community. We recognise that it is vital to include palliative care and end-of-life care, including hospices, in this shift.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to implement Hospice UK’s four-point plan for fair hospice funding.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Hospice UK’s four-point plan highlights key challenges faced by the hospice sector. We are addressing these concerns through wider reforms. The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan.
Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. Contracting and commissioning arrangements will be considered as part of this work. We recognise there is currently a mix of contracting models across the hospice sector, and by supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant-based and block-contract models and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
As part of the MSF’s development, we have invited colleagues from a range of organisations, including Hospice UK, to engage in this process. It would not be right to pre-empt exactly what will be in the final MSF at this time, as we develop it with our palliative care and end-of-life care stakeholders.
Additionally, the Government has also invested significantly in the hospice sector, including £125 million of capital funding for adult and children and young people’s hospices in 2024/25 and 2025/26, with a further approximately £80 million of revenue funding support for children and young people’s hospices over the next three years in England.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential implications for his polices of the change in the number of available hospice beds in England over the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No formal assessment has been made of the potential implications for the Department’s policies of the change in the number of available hospice beds in England over the last 12 months.
However, we do recognise the difficult and challenging financial situation that many hospices are facing due to a range of concurrent cost pressures and that, as a result, some hospices have had to reduce the services they offer and the number of inpatient beds.
We have been supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We can now confirm we are providing a further £25 million in capital funding for hospices to spend in 2025/26.
We also recently announced that we are providing approximately £80 million of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices in England over the next three financial years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, giving them stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. As part of the MSF, we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the hospice sector on the financial viability of that sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I attended the Hospice UK National Conference on 25 November 2025, where I heard directly from many people working in the hospice sector, including hospice chief executives and palliative care consultants and nurses. I really valued hearing their thoughts, insights, and expertise on the challenges facing the sector and how we can work together to come up with solutions.
I have also visited several hospices in recent months, including Sussex Beacon and Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, where I have had very informative discussions with hospice staff. Additionally, Department officials meet regularly with Hospice UK which provides updates on the financial state of the hospice sector at both national and local levels.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
Officials are working closely with Hospice UK and a number of other stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for children’s palliative care services in Bradford West; and what steps the Modern Service Framework for palliative and end of life care is taking to address funding challenges faced by the sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the vital role that children’s palliative care services play in supporting children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families, including in Bradford West.
Integrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS West Yorkshire ICB, are responsible for assessing and commissioning palliative care and end of life care services that meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.
Although commissioning decisions are made locally, we continue to support the children’s hospice sector nationally. We are providing £26 million revenue funding to children and young people’s hospices in 2025/26, of which children and young people’s hospices in Bradford West are receiving £1,727,000.
We are also pleased to confirm the continuation of this funding, with approximately £80 million, adjusted for inflation, to be allocated over the next three financial years to children and young people’s hospices, giving them greater stability to plan ahead and focus on delivering high-quality, personalised care.
In addition, eligible hospices are benefitting from the Government’s £125 million capital investment to improve care environments for both adult and children’s hospices across England, of which children and young people’s hospices in Bradford West are receiving £1,278,935.
The Government is also developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England, planned for publication later this year. The MSF will support ICBs, including the NHS West Yorkshire ICB, to commission palliative care and end of life care more strategically by addressing the drivers of variation in access, quality and sustainability. It will help move the sector away from grant and block contract model towards clearer, more sustainable commissioning arrangements, enabling services, including those that support children, to plan with greater certainty.