The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Guidance on how ICBs can move towards population health delivery models and commissioning was also published alongside the Neighbourhood Health Framework on 17 March 2026. This states that NHS England will work with selected ICBs to develop new payment models to support neighbourhood services, including for those at end of life and will outline the co-designed payment approaches for all ICBs to consider shortly. The government agrees with Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2026. ICBs should apply this to all providers, not just hospices, as per the Strategic Commissioning Framework. The planned publication of Autumn 2026 of Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) provides an important opportunity to further strengthen commissioning and improve sustainability of palliative care and end‑of‑life care through consideration of contracting and commissioning arrangements. The department recognises that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2026. Last year, NHS England published a Strategic Commissioning Framework, supporting ICBs to respond effectively to current and future needs of their population, in line with the wider expectation of the Model ICB Blueprint. More specifically, NHS England has also published statutory guidance for palliative care and end-of-life care, as well as service specifications (adults and children and young people). The government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care MSF, through which we will closely monitor the shift towards strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services across all ICBs.