The announcement by health and social care minister Stephen Kinnock came during evidence to a Health and Social Committee on palliative care this morning.

Kinnock said: ‘I'm delighted to confirm today that we are adding a further £25m to the £100m pound capital funding available for adult and children's hospices this financial year.'

The funding is in addition to the commitment to provide £80m for children and young people's services in October 2025.

Charlie King, director of external affairs at Hospice UK said: ‘The extension of the capital funding scheme for hospices with an additional £25m is very welcome. Hospices have used the money distributed in 2025 to make significant improvements to their care environments and digital infrastructure. We know this additional funding will be put to excellent use and be of real benefit to people facing the end of life.'

King said that while the extra funding was ‘helpful' it would not be enough to prevent more cuts to services in the coming months, however.

‘That means more unnecessary hospital admissions, more unneeded A&E attendances, and more patients not getting the care they deserve in the location that's right for them,' King added.

Kinnock said there was currently ‘an issue around the capability of ICBs in commissioning', adding their approach to local partners was too ‘transactional' and not strategic enough.

With £22bn, or a tenth of the NHS budget, spent on people in the last year of life, Kinnock said the problem was not more money but where it is being spent.

‘We have to shift funding flows out of secondary and acute care into community and primary care,' he said.

‘The funding flows have to follow the priorities that are set out under a new approach to commissioning.'