£80m boost for children’s hospices hailed as ‘significant first step’

An £80 million boost for children’s hospices is a “significant first step” towards getting hospices on a stable footing, hospice leaders have said.

The Government announced that the funding for children’s hospices in England would be spread over three years.

It comes amid growing concerns about the way hospices are funded, with many highlighting significant shortfalls and a reliance on public donations to keep afloat.

Last week it emerged that 57% of hospices in England ended the last financial year (2024-25) in deficit, with a fifth having a deficit of more than £1 million.

Hospice leaders have called for full Government funding of specialist palliative care provided by hospices.

Children’s hospices provide care and support services for children with life-limiting conditions and their families.

Around 99,000 children are living with life-limiting condition in the UK, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

The department said that the new settlement means children’s hospices have “certainty” so they can plan ahead for the next three years.

The department said that individual hospice allocations for the next three years will be published “in due course”.

“Children’s hospices provide invaluable support to children, families and loved ones facing unimaginable challenges,” said care minister Stephen Kinnock.

“Through this funding we are 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.”

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, chief executive of Together for Short Lives, added: “Maintaining and increasing this funding over three years will help to bring some 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 2025/26.”