To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the increase in the number of people that will have palliative care needs over the next 10 years.
Answered on
20 May 2025
Currently, approximately 600,000 people die per year in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that up to 90% of deaths could benefit from palliative and end of life care.
The Office for National Statistics has projected that, by 2040, approximately 800,000 people a year will die in the UK. Also, current trends point to a growing proportion of people dying from chronic disease, particularly cancer and dementia. Taking these considerations together, it has been estimated that the number of people needing palliative and end of life care could increase by 42% by 2040.
We have committed to develop a 10-Year Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered, from hospital to community, from treatment to prevention, and from analogue to digital. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan.
In February, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan. I have followed up with meetings with officials from the Department and NHS England. I also recently met with my Hon. Friend the Member for York Central, and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, to discuss the progress of their independent commission into palliative and end of life care, including the commission’s first of three reports, published on 13 May, to which we will formally respond in the coming weeks.