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 support hospice services so that they may support the wider health and care system.

No assessment has been made. Palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, is commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs) in response to the needs of their local population. Any assessment would therefore be made at a local level.

Following a HM Treasury-led review into the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April 2023 until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including hospices. At a national level, NHS England has released £1.5 billion of additional funding to ICBs to provide support for inflation, with ICBs deciding how best to distribute this funding within their systems.

Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations that remain free to set salary rates along with other terms and conditions at a level that reflects the skills and experience of their staff.