Access to Palliative Care and Treatment of Children Bill [HL]

Key Points

• Requires NHS service commissioners to ensure access to both specialist and generalist palliative care and related support for those they fund.
• Allows hospices to access pharmaceutical services on the same footing as other NHS services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.
• Includes provisions on the treatment of children with life‑limiting illness under NHS care.
• In Committee stage, an amendment proposed by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath would create a funding floor for palliative care in England, requiring the Secretary of State to allot at least a minimum amount each financial year as set in a table in the Bill.
• Debate around the amendment focuses on funding certainty vs flexibility, how the table is set, and the potential impact on NHS budgets and service access.

Progress

The bill is in the Lords Committee stage. A funding-related amendment has been tabled by a Labour peer, but there is no recorded decision on it yet.