Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has has with relevant stakeholders on the provision of sustainable funding for transforming (a) palliative and (b) end of life care services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
I also recently met Rachael Maskell MP and Baroness Finlay to discuss the progress of their independent commission into palliative and end of life care.
As part of the work to develop the 10-Year Health Plan, we will be carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners.
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
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 potential implications for his Department’s policies of the Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement 2025; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using this fund to improve palliative and end of life care services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
As part of the Spring Statement, the Government announced a £3.25 billion Transformation Fund to drive efficiencies across Government and save money later in the Parliament and set out how this would be allocated over the Spending Review process.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement 2025; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating a sum of this money for the palliative and end of life care sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
As part of the Spring Statement, the Government announced a £3.25 billion Transformation Fund to drive efficiencies across Government and save money later in the Parliament and set out how this would be allocated over the Spending Review process.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include measures on reforming funding allocations for (a) palliative and (b) other end of life care services in the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Spending Review is underway. We are, however, already supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
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 trends in the level of people requiring palliative care over the next 10 years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Currently, approximately 600,000 people die per year in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that up to 90% of deaths could benefit from palliative and end of life care.
The Office for National Statistics has projected that, by 2040, approximately 800,000 people a year will die in the UK. Also, current trends point to a growing proportion of people dying from chronic disease, particularly cancer and dementia. Taking these considerations together, it has been estimated that the number of people needing palliative and end of life care could increase by 42% by 2040.
We have committed to develop a 10-Year Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered, from hospital to community, from treatment to prevention, and from analogue to digital. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures will be included in the 10 Year Health Plan to improve palliative and end of life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and families receive the care they need when and where they need it, including those who need palliative and end of life care.
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have been carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, including the hospice sector.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what he has made of the potential merits of using pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy for people with cystic fibrosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on best practice, based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NICE’s guideline on the diagnosis and management of cystic fibrosis recommends pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy as a treatment option for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in patients with cystic fibrosis. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng78
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
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 ensure adequate (a) training and (b) support for GPs in helping to diagnose cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 28805 on 14 February 2025.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the outcomes from the 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme consultation, which closed on 28 February 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The outcome of the consultation will be published shortly, once all responses received have been fully considered and any decisions made about the final payment scheme.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
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 funding for services for children with eating disorders.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will recruit an extra 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services to cut waiting times and ensure that people can access treatment and support earlier.
We will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school in England, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We are also rolling out Young Futures Hubs in every community to provide open access mental health support for children and young people. These commitments will provide appropriate support for children and young people with a range of mental health needs, including eating disorders.