§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support his Department gives services for palliative care; and how such funds are to be distributed. [12]
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§ Yvette CooperThe National Health Service supports the provision of specialist palliative care services by NHS service providers and voluntary organisations. The NHS Cancer Plan set out our commitment to increase NHS investment in specialist palliative care by £50 million by 2004 to end inequalities in access to care and enable the NHS to make a realistic contribution to the cost that hospices incur in providing agreed levels of service.
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.