Palliative Care

Health and Social Care Committee Open Non-inquiry session
Opened: 5 Mar 2025 Parliament page
The Health and Social Care Committee has established and commissioned a politically impartial panel of experts to conduct an evaluation – independently of the Committee – of palliative care in England . The Expert Panel will produce a report after each evaluation which will be sent to the Committee to … Read more
13 Recommendations
9 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
19 Jun
2026
Report published
24 Mar
2026
Report published
4 Feb
2026
Correspondence
7 Jan
2026
Oral evidence
14 Jan
2025
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
7 Jan 2026
View on parliament.uk
Oral Evidence
Dr Amanda Doyle OBE · NHS England Dr Edward Scully · Department of Health and Social Care Dr Sarah Mitchell · NHS England Stephen Kinnock MP · Department of Health and Social Care
Title HC No. Published Items Response
6th Report - Palliative Care HC 1763 24 Mar 2026 22 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
16 Recommendation Accepted in Part
6th Report - Palliative Care
We recommend that end of life care be included as a core skill for the...
We recommend that end of life care be included as a core skill for the generalist health and social care workforce, with a clear and defined set of competencies required to deliver high-quality and person-centred palliative and end of life … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepts, committing to integrating palliative care into generalist practice and education, as reflected in the 10 Year Workforce Plan and an NHS England education framework. A career pathway and core capabilities framework for specialist palliative care are available, with funding and places for QiSS modules planned for March 2027/28.
Department of Health and Social Care
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17 Recommendation Accepted in Part
6th Report - Palliative Care
Current shortages in the specialist workforce are putting palliative care services in an unsustainable position...
Current shortages in the specialist workforce are putting palliative care services in an unsustainable position which threatens their ability to deliver equitable and high-quality palliative and end of life care. Extensive consultant vacancies, impending retirements, limited training places and widespread … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepts, focusing on training for the generalist workforce and developing a Qualification in Specialism Standard (QiSS) for palliative care. They plan to have funding and places for QiSS modules ready by March 2027/28, and a career pathway framework is already available.
Department of Health and Social Care
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18 Recommendation Accepted in Part
6th Report - Palliative Care
The Government need to publish an evidence-based plan, supported by up-to-date workforce modelling, setting out...
The Government need to publish an evidence-based plan, supported by up-to-date workforce modelling, setting out how it will increase the capacity and sustainability of all sectors of the specialist palliative and end of life care workforce, as part of the … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepts the recommendation, highlighting the 10 Year Long Term Workforce Plan's focus on integrating palliative care into generalist education. It mentions an existing career pathway framework for specialist palliative care and plans for funding and places for the Qualification in Specialism Standard modules by March 2027/28, but does not detail a specific plan for increasing specialist workforce capacity or setting staffing targets.
Department of Health and Social Care
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Government Response AI assessment · 22 of 13 classified
Accepted 10
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 1
Not Addressed 7
Rejected 1
Total 13 recs + 9 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
4 Feb 2026 Correspondence from Minister Kinnock - Follow up on 7 January session
Parliament page
14 Jan 2025 Correspondence from the Chair to the SoS relating to palliative care
Parliament page