Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 7
6th Report - Palliative Care
Published 24 Mar 2026
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee Palliative Care All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the MSF includes specific guidelines and requirements for ICBs to enable access to 24/7 PEoLC services, including access to symptomatic medication, and in-person care where necessary. We call on the Government to provide an assessment of both the workforce needed to deliver such a service and the potential savings to the wider health and care service that such an offer would deliver. (Recommendation, Paragraph 36)
From: Health and Social Care Committee, 6th Report - Palliative Care (HC 1763), 24 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 19 June 2026 (deadline 24 May 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government labels its response to each of the ten recommendations as accept, partially accept or reject, accepting most, including that of accountability arrangements for the Modern Service Framework, and rejecting two.
- On accountability, it accepts the recommendation and says arrangements will be developed with the National Quality Board, with the full Modern Service Framework due for publication in "Autumn 2026".
- It rejects the recommendation to reconsider removing local authority representation from ICBs, saying the current arrangement is "confusing and ineffective" and that collaboration will be at place level through health and wellbeing boards.
- It rejects implementing a 90% Palliative Care Register target, noting there is no formal target but describing it as "a stretch target that we would like to achieve by 2029". It is "considering the target and metrics" as it develops the full MSF.
- It partially accepts the workforce recommendation, stating "it would not be right to set targets for staffing" and that it is "not for the Government to mandate a defined set of competencies". It is "planning to have funding and places ready for March 2027/28" for the palliative care qualification modules.