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Written question asked by Martin Vickers (Conservative) on Tuesday, 28 October 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 October 2025. It was answered by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Monday, 10 November 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Palliative Care

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to strengthen statutory guidance on the legal duty to commission palliative care services in the Health and Care Act 2022.

Answer

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care. 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. There are no current plans to update the statutory guidance.

The ICBs are expected to follow the statutory guidance in exercising their functions and must pay due regard to it in the planning, commissioning, and delivery of palliative care and end of life care services.

Additionally, NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
85709
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Palliative care
Legislation
Health and Care Act 2022
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk