The county’s three Liberal Democrat MPs began a petition which was handed in to No 10 after it gained more than 15,000 signatures.

Rixon motion to a full council meeting next week states: “The proposed cuts to Arthur Rank Hospice are detrimental, will reduce the quality of care for vulnerable patients, and will worsen capacity pressures at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

“Every resident deserves timely, dignified and accessible high-quality healthcare when they need it, whether via their GP surgery, community services, in hospital or end-of-life settings.”

The motion asks for Lib Dem council leader Bridget Smith to write to the health secretary, the hospital trust and the local NHS to ask them to commit to maintaining long-term sustainable funding.

The hospital spokeswoman said: “At the start of this financial year, in order to maintain core services within a reduced budget, we undertook an affordability and value for money assessment of the external contracts we hold, and this included the beds we have been funding at Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge.

“After taking into account the underutilisation of these beds and the changing model of palliative care we need to provide at the hospital, we took the difficult decision to end the contract.

“We are hugely grateful for the excellent service that Arthur Rank has provided since 2017 and will continue to work with them as a valued partner.”

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said it had invested £100m – “the biggest investment in a generation” – to improve hospice services, and “local funding allocations for specific hospices is a decision for integrated care boards”.