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 adequacy of (a) NHS and (b) hospice funding allocations in (i) Greater Cambridge and (ii) other high-growth areas.

NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards (ICBs). This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.

ICB allocations for 2025/26 were published on 30 January 2025, and allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be published in due course. Further information on allocations in 2025/26 is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2025-26/

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an ICB must commission. 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 palliative care and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.

The Department and NHS England are currently working at pace to develop plans on how best to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care, including that provided by hospices, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

We are supporting hospices in England with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. The Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge is receiving £941,496 from this funding.