CHILDREN'S HOSPICE WEEK 23 TO 29 MAY 2016

That this House welcomes and supports the advent of Children's Hospice Week, the UK's awareness and fundraising week for the 49,000 children and young people with life-shortening conditions, their families and the palliative care services that support them; recognises the huge contribution that hospices and children's palliative care charities play in supporting the most vulnerable children and their families; further recognises that, overwhelmingly, the majority of funds to support this vital care is not through the NHS but through generous public donations; notes that whilst statutory funding and support for these children with the most complex conditions is patchy and unsustainable, the number of children and young people with life-shortening conditions is increasing; further notes that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and other funders have a limited knowledge of this population and that local authorities are funding fewer and fewer short breaks which provide vital respite for families; and calls on the Government to ensure that children with short lives are not short changed and that adequate long-term funding and support is provided through CCGs and others to ensure a quality of life and a quality of death for these children and young people that befits a good society and puts families first.