A hospice charity is calling on the government to secure its funding so children are guaranteed palliative and end-of-life care.
Demelza has launched its Children’s Care Matters campaign, which puts pressure on the government to guarantee the children’s hospice grant for at least five years and asks that it is increased by the rate of inflation every year.
The grant is currently confirmed annually, meaning children’s hospices do not know when or how much statutory income they have coming in and making it harder to plan services.
Demelza receives 84% of its funding from donations and fundraisers, while it received £1.7m, around 10%, of its income from the children’s hospice grant in 2025-26.
No guarantee of future help
The grant funding is not ringfenced, allowing hospices like Demelza to spend the money where it is most needed.
But there is currently no guarantee or indication from the government that this grant will continue in the future.
Other government help for children’s hospices is only for capital expenditure such as one-off costs for repairs, upgrades and maintenance.
The campaign also encourages the public to “raise their hands” in support of their local children’s hospice. Every hand raised counts as a show of support towards the grant being guaranteed.
Demelza supports more than 2,500 children and their families, with two hospices in Sittingbourne and Eltham, South East London, and a community hospice in East Sussex.
Lavinia Jarrett, Demelza’s chief executive, said: “The future of your local children’s hospice is in your hands and in the hands of our prime minister, our MPs and decision-makers so we would encourage everyone to support this campaign by raising their hand.
“Your backing will help us secure the long-term future of children’s hospice care and give families the vital support they need when facing the darkest of times, for years to come.
“While the children’s hospice grant only makes up part of Demelza’s income, having it guaranteed as a source of ongoing sustainable funding will allow us, and all children’s hospices, to better plan our specialist services.”
