Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure sufficient capacity within palliative care and end of life services in the context of an ageing population.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life services that meet the needs of their population according to local prioritisation and funding. As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, palliative care services were specifically added to the list of services an ICB must commission.

NHS England has published statutory guidance for ICBs to support their commissioning of high-quality, accessible palliative and end of life care for all. This includes the completion of an Equalities and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment and action plan.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research is investing £3 million in a new Palliative and End of Life Care Policy Research Unit. This will help build the evidence base on palliative and end of life care, as demand increases, to inform policymaking.