§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional help he intends to make available for independent hospices. [1359]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 3 July 2001]: The NHS cancer plan set out our commitment to increase national health service investment in specialist palliative care by £50 million by 2004 to end inequalities in access to care and enable the NHS to make a more realistic contribution to the cost hospices incur in providing agreed levels of services.
Cancer networks are currently developing detailed service delivery plans, which will identify current provision and set out action plans for further development across all services including palliative care. These will be completed by the autumn.