Government to publish palliative care MSF spring 2026

Families tell us the basics matter: being known by name, a plan everyone can see, and someone to call at 3am when symptoms change. In a speech published on GOV.UK by the Department of Health and Social Care, Health Minister Stephen Kinnock told the Hospice UK conference that government will set those basics into a national plan for palliative and end‑of‑life care.

The headline promise is a Modern Service Framework (MSF) for palliative and end‑of‑life care, scheduled for spring 2026. The plan aims to reduce postcode gaps, move more support into the community, and back 24/7 advice so more people can die in the place they choose.

Money matters too. In December, ministers committed £100 million in capital for adult and children’s hospices in England across two financial years. Hospice UK has been distributing the money so services can replace leaking roofs, modernise beds and IT, and cut energy bills with new boilers or solar panels. Leaders at Wigan and Leigh Hospice told Kinnock the repairs free up day‑to‑day budgets for care.

For children’s services, the minister confirmed the revenue funding formerly known as the Children’s Hospice Grant is now guaranteed for three years, through to 2029, worth about £80 million. Announced at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in Barnet, the multi‑year settlement is designed to replace cliff‑edge, year‑to‑year cycles and give families and providers reliable planning time.

Here’s why those two pots are different but connected. Capital pays for buildings and equipment; revenue pays for staff and clinical time. When both are stable, your local hospice can keep inpatient beds open, run community teams, and operate overnight advice lines without having to cut elsewhere.

Quick explainer: the MSF is a national blueprint. Kinnock said it will set a measurable long‑term goal, list evidence‑based interventions, support consistent uptake by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and providers, highlight promising innovation over the next decade, and show how new ideas spread. The aim is to put a floor under what everyone can expect, ending unwarranted variation.

Accountability is baked in. Once published, oversight of the MSF will sit with the National Quality Board, with a clear route to act if areas fall behind. We should see regular checks on whether interventions are in place and whether they reduce avoidable hospital admissions, improve comfort at home and narrow unfair gaps between areas.

ICBs explained in plain English: they plan and pay for most NHS care in each local system. Ministers want them to commission palliative and end‑of‑life services more strategically-moving away from ad‑hoc grants and short block contracts-so hospices can sign multi‑year agreements and people aren’t subject to a postcode lottery.

Why 24/7 helplines matter came through strongly. In Liverpool, a dedicated palliative hub with a round‑the‑clock phone line was evaluated between 2021 and 2023 and showed better identification of people nearing the end of life, fewer emergency admissions, fewer deaths in hospital, and more people dying at home-the preference for most of us. That is exactly the kind of best practice the MSF wants to spread.

The minister set out familiar barriers: people are identified too late for palliative support; advance care plans aren’t always shared; continuity drops out‑of‑hours. The fix is practical-shared care records, early planning from diagnosis, multi‑disciplinary teams, and 24/7 clinical advice so crises don’t default to A&E.

He was frank about the wider finances, pointing to high debt interest costs and tough choices. The direction of travel, though, is clear: shift care from hospital to community, use neighbourhood health teams, and give hospices a steadier commissioning path inside the NHS rather than asking charities to plug unpredictable gaps.

Parliament is also debating the Terminally Ill Adults Bill on assisted dying. Government remains neutral and focused on ensuring any law Parliament passes is workable and safe. Whatever the outcome, Kinnock stressed that high‑quality, compassionate palliative care must stand on its own and be available to everyone.

What this means for you now: if you’re supporting someone, ask whether your area runs a 24/7 advice line, whether your advance care plan sits in the shared record, and who will review it out‑of‑hours. If you lead a service, expect MSF measures to shape local contracts, data and training from 2026 onward.

Between now and spring 2026, officials will work with partners such as the Ambitions Partnership and providers to finalise the MSF. After publication, the focus shifts to implementation-statutory guidance, regional support and commissioning checks so ICBs adopt evidence‑based models consistently.

We’ll keep tracking the milestones: the final MSF text, confirmed allocations for children’s hospices, and how the £100 million capital translates into fewer emergency trips. The shared goal is simple-care that is personal, timely and there for you at 3am, not just at clinic time.