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Scottish Parliament elections: Palliative care in party manifestos

Prior to the upcoming Scottish Parliament Elections on 7 May, several political parties have made references to palliative care within their party manifestos.  SPPC is independent of party politics and abides by the legal frameworks which apply to charities during electoral periods. 

For information, we’ve provided below links to all the major parties’ manifestos where ‘palliative care’ is explicitly mentioned (and quoted the relevant content in each).

Scottish Conservatives

2026 Scottish Parliament Election Manifesto - Scottish Conservatives

“For those with terminal illnesses, we must do better to care for them as they enter the final stages of their life. We welcome the publication of the Palliative Care Matters for All strategy 2025-2030 but know that strategies alone will not improve care – it is delivery that counts. So we would ensure this strategy is backed up with a new funding model to deliver the palliative care our country deserves.”

Scottish Greens 

2026 Scottish Greens Manifesto - Scottish Greens

“It is vital that we also support people to die well and we need to have honest conversations about what a good death looks like. Palliative care has been neglected for too long and we will invest in services so that people can access help and support in their community, 24/7.

• Deliver a long-term, sustainable funding model for hospice care, including fully implementing pay parity between NHS and hospice care staff.

• Establish an independent review of palliative care to drive urgent system reform and identify investment needed to meet rising population needs, expand community-based care and reduce avoidable hospital use for those as the end of life.

• Ensure all patients, carers and health and care staff have access to a 24/7 palliative care helpline to get support and specialist advice.

• Make training in palliative care a mandatory requirement for all workforces supporting a terminally ill person, including care home staff and social care staff, with provision for unpaid carers.”

Scottish Liberal Democrats 

2026 Manifesto - Scottish Liberal Democrats

“Give people dignity at the end of life by:

• Supporting hospices to provide essential palliative and end-of-life care, enabling them to pay doctors and nurses in line with NHS salaries and giving children’s hospice care a fair deal, building on the extra £14.4m delivered by Scottish Liberal Democrats across the last two Scottish budgets.

• Giving people of all ages living with terminal illness a legal right to palliative care.

• Helping people with terminal illness with energy bills amid the cost of living crisis, and giving them fast-track access to the emergency insulation programme set out in chapter 12.”

Scottish Labour

Manifesto 2026 - Scottish Labour

Improving end of life care

“Too many people are reaching the end of life without the support they need. Compassionate and well planned palliative services give patients comfort and care when they are terminally ill.

Scottish Labour will:

• End the patchwork provision of palliative care, working with the profession to improve clinical pathways and minimum standards of care for those at the end of life.

• Improve palliative care training, for staff in social care and health services, including NHS 24, so patients and families get the advice and support they need.

• Better coordinated care in the community, with family GPs delivering improved continuity of care.

• Deliver parity of pay for hospice-based doctors and nurses, with a long-term sustainable funding model for hospices and end of life care.”

SNP

SNP 2026 Manifesto: Always on Scotland’s side — Scottish National Party

Framed as ‘Palliative care expansion’ in the contents page

Palliative care

“Anyone who needs palliative care should have access to the best quality support. We will work with all interested parties to make sure that appropriate palliative care is available for all those who need it, where and when they need it.

We will continue to deliver our Palliative Care Matters for All Strategy and build on the investment made in our hospices to introduce NHS pay parity for hospice staff and increase funding to £9.4 million this year. We will guarantee that pay parity is maintained throughout this parliament.

Going forward we will co-develop a new funding model for Hospices with the sector to ensure annual public funding keeps pace with need. That will include exploring if the most appropriate model is direct funding for hospices in recognition of the key role they play in the provision of palliative care. We will work with the NHS and specialist charities to explore ways to expand the palliative care workforce, and provide more consistent palliative care for those who need it.

We will also deliver a new Paediatric Palliative Care Suite for Scotland - or ‘Molly’s Suite’ - building on the incredible work done by young cancer patient Molly Cuddihy to ensure children and young people at the end of their life are properly supported and treated with dignity. This will complement the exceptional work done by CHAS to support children, young people and their families in Robin House and Rachel House.”

Home Energy for Health

“The use of life saving equipment at home and not having to either visit or stay in hospital, should not leave anyone out of pocket.

That’s why we will work to support the cost of electricity for the use of life saving equipment that has been prescribed for use within their home. As part of our efforts to improve palliative care we will also ensure that this electricity support is applied to the energy bills of terminally ill patients, to relieve this worry from their final days.”

 

 

Key asks for the next Scottish Parliament

The Cross Party Group on Palliative Care met in February 2026 and heard presentations from 10 experts outlining key actions for the next Scottish Parliament. 

We have summarised these ‘key asks’ into a paper designed to be useful for arguing the case for change, during this election and in future.  

You can access the paper here: Key asks for the next Scottish Parliament

 

Palliative Care on the Ballot: An Election Hustings

Monday 23 March, 6.30pm - 8pm, MS Teams.  Register here.

The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care, Marie Curie, Children’s Hospice Across Scotland (CHAS) and Hospice UK, are jointly holding an Election Hustings.  The event brings together the sector at a pivotal moment in the election campaign to speak with a united voice about what matters most at the end of life.

The hustings will demonstrate the central role of palliative and end of life care in social care, the NHS, hospices, voluntary sector and wider public services. 

With an ageing population, rising levels of need and persistent gaps in access and quality, palliative care is not a marginal issue. This event will highlight the inequities people face depending on their characteristics, circumstances and diagnosis, and make the case for urgent action.

Taking place online, the hustings will be accessible to stakeholders across the country. It offers a unique opportunity to secure public commitments from parties on funding, systemic reform and practical solutions that ensure everyone can experience the best possible care at the end of life.

We will be joined by representatives from political parties: 

• SNP: Speaker to be confirmed 
• Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP
• Scottish Labour Party: Jackie Baillie MSP
• Scottish Greens- Gillian Mackay MSP
• Scottish Liberal Democrats: Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP
• Reform UK: Graham Simpson MSP

More Information

Find  out more and register to attend the hustings here:  Election Hustings information and registration

If you would like to submit a question to help guide discussion at the hustings, you can do so here:  Audience Question Submission 

If you have any questions, please email liam.challenger@mariecurie.org.uk 

Photo by Maja R. on Unsplash

Annual Conference - From System Holes to Whole Systems

Over 100 people attended the SPPC Annual Conference, hearing from a range of inspiring speakers and participating in a variety of breakout sessions. 

The day explored the fact that as someone approaches the end of life they may need a range of supports – from health services, from social care services, from the welfare system, and from family, friends and their communities.  The conference looked at how this complex web of supports can work more effectively as a system to improve people’s experiences of living with serious illness, dying and bereavement.

Presentation slides from the conference can be viewed on the SPPC Conference webpage, including a film of Cormac Russell’s presentation and a podcast sharing Donald Macaskill’s key reflections.