The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced an £80m funding boost for children’s and young people’s hospices over three years.
Last week, DHSC said it will provide £26m annually for the financial years 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29, adjusted for inflation, to ensure services can continue supporting families “during the most challenging times”.
The funding will be allocated in due course, based on new prevalence data received by NHS England, and distributed through local integrated care boards (ICBs).
DHSC said “distributing funding through ICBs will help ensure there’s a more consistent national approach, helping to end the postcode lottery of funding for palliative care services and meeting the needs of local populations across the country”.
Hospice charity bosses welcomed the news, which builds on the government’s £100m hospices funding investment unveiled in December 2024.
‘Ending cliff edge of short-sighted funding cycles’
DCMS said its commitment for the remainder of this parliament “gives children’s hospices certainty so they can plan ahead and continue to deliver high-quality, compassionate care to children with life-limiting conditions and their families during some of the most challenging times in their lives”.
The funding is intended to be spent by hospices “to provide high-quality care and support for the children and families they care for, either in the hospice or in the community, including in children’s homes”.
It could be used, for instance, to provide respite care for children with high health needs, physiotherapy or occupational therapy, or 24/7 nursing support for a child at the end of their life.
“As part of the 10 Year Health Plan, the government will shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive more personalised care in the most appropriate setting,” DCMS said.
“The palliative and end-of-life care sector, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift.”
Care minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Children’s hospices provide invaluable support to children, families and loved ones facing unimaginable challenges.
“Through this funding, we’re making sure hospices can continue delivering invaluable, compassionate and high-quality care to children and their families – and ending the cliff edge of short-sighted, annual funding cycles – providing certainty for children’s hospices, but crucially for those they care for.”
Charities: ‘Welcome significant first step’
Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said: “This is a welcome and significant first step to placing the children’s hospice sector on a sustainable footing.
“The stability provided by a multi-year settlement will have a real impact on the care children’s hospices provide and the families they support.
“We look forward to working with the government on long-term reforms which are essential to safeguarding all hospice services and ensuring they can play their role in the shift towards more care delivered in the community.”
Nick Carroll, CEO of Together for Short Lives, said: “I warmly welcome this news and thank ministers for listening to families of seriously ill children and those who provide them with the children’s hospice services they rely on.
“Children’s hospices are amazing and create precious moments of joy for seriously ill children and their families.
“As demand for this lifeline care grows in both volume and complexity, children’s hospices are providing more support than ever before.”
Carroll added that maintaining and increasing this funding over three years will help bring clarity and reassurance to children’s hospices, “helping them to plan and deliver care over a longer period”.
“Above all, it will help ensure seriously ill children and their families can continue to access vital hospice care beyond 2025 to 2026,” he added.
Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice also welcomed the announcement, saying that the funding represents around 13% of its annual income.
CEO Sophie Andrews said: “Whilst this funding is welcomed and will give us a more solid foundation for the next three years, we’ll still rely heavily on the generosity of our community for the majority of our income.”
