Sector news and member updates

Are you a hospice leader looking for training or coaching to help develop your skills during critical periods of change across the sector?

There are just a few places left to join our award-winning Strategic Leadership Programme, which is specially designed for hospice leaders and open exclusively to our members.

Running from 17th September 2025 - 24th February 2026, this course focuses on understanding the health and care environment, leading in complex systems and developing high impact personal leadership skills.

In addition to this bespoke training, facilitators The Westcott Group are now offering one-to-one and group coaching packages. These are designed to equip hospice leaders and professionals with new approaches, skills and tools to navigate the complexities of their roles.

Find out more about how you can take part.

In collaboration with Just B, we are piloting a free one-to-one telephone support service to clinical hospice professionals. The service will run until 31st July.

Just B's specialist support workers can signpost people to relevant services, give advice, or simply be there to listen. Callers also have the option to be referred into Just 'B's counselling service.

Find out more

As a Hospice UK member, you can access exclusive discounted rates to advertise on our Jobs Board.

Your vacancy will not only be shared on our Jobs Board page, but it could also be included in our weekly job updates email, reaching a wide network of palliative care professionals.

Plus, your vacancy will get added visibility through a dedicated social media post.

Don’t miss the chance to connect with highly qualified candidates.

Keep up-to-date with discussions and activity around assisted dying by bookmarking our information page for members.

The Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES) are relaunching their successful Being Ready Training in June 2025. This training aims to help professionals address the needs of trans and gender diverse people during all stages of death, dying and bereavement.

The training will be split into three parts:

• Part 1 -  a half day online on 3rd June or 18th June 2025. 
• Part 2 - a half day online on 5th June or 25th June 2025. 
• Part 3 - a whole day in-person training session on 22nd September 2025. 

You can only attend part 3 of the training if you have attended the first two parts, or completed the Being Ready Training in 2024.

If you are interested in participating in any of this training, you can find out more on the GIRES website. 
 

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has accepted the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies for NHS pay awards in England for 2025-26, backdated to 1st April 2025. The same pay awards have been accepted by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in Wales and the Health Minister in Northern Ireland. The unions are yet to agree to these.

• For doctors: 4% pay rise.
• For Agenda for Change (AfC) staff: 3.6% pay rise.

The current NHS England contract cost uplift (see section 3.2 of the NHS Payment Scheme) of 2.15% includes only the nominal 2.8% for pay increases as budgeted by Treasury. It is likely the rest of the pay increase will have to be found from current funding pots. The contract cost uplift will need to be adjusted to take account of this.

In Scotland, the unions have agreed to an Agenda for Change (AfC) pay rise of 4.25% for 2025-26.
 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has launched a consultation on changes made to the code of practice that sets out how organisations should comply with the Equality Act 2010. This follows the Supreme Court ruling on 16 April 2025 in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. You can read our statement following the Supreme Court ruling here.

The call for responses will close on Monday 30th June. You can submit your response by completing this survey.

We are currently developing a response to the consultation and would welcome input from members via email.

Local Hospice Lottery has launched its new five-year strategy, which aims to maximise the organisation’s impact through effective collaboration with its 40+ hospice partners and 210,000+ lottery players.

The new strategy will lead to an exciting and fruitful period of growth, through:

• further development of face-to-face fundraising
• maximising business improvement techniques and technology
• increasing awareness
• delivering choice to new and existing partners.

This will help Local Hospice Lottery to contribute a significant and sustainable source of income to hospices, for the benefit of patients and their families.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hospice and End of Life Care is launching an inquiry looking into financial security for people with a terminal illness and at the end of life.

The APPG is interested in responses from people with lived, professional, or policy experience in this area. More detail on the inquiry can be found here.

The call for evidence closes on Friday 20th June, 2025. The APPG will use the evidence provided to inform a report published later this year.

You can submit evidence by completing this form. Video and voice note submissions are also accepted.

If you would prefer to submit your thoughts in one of these formats, or in an alternative format (e.g. Word Document) please contact the APPG to arrange this. 

The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a call for evidence on the effectiveness of Care Quality Commission (CQC) Regulation 9A. This regulation, which came into force in April 2024, introduced a right to visitation in hospices, care homes and hospitals in England.

The call for evidence is open to patients, care home residents, providers and professionals, family members, friends, carers and advocates in England. You can respond here.

If you have any questions or would like to share any views and experiences to inform Hospice UK’s approach to this consultation, please contact our Policy team.