Hospice fears pre-Christmas funding plans shelved

One hospice manager said it was "battle" to keep services running

A hospice in Greater Manchester has said without government funding it will face "uncertainty for the future".

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said in November the Labour administration would "make sure we're protecting our hospices" by changing the funding it gives to the sector to help deal with the pressures of increased National Insurance (NI) costs for staff.

Streeting previously told BBC Breakfast that details of the funding would be announced before Christmas.

But with Parliament going into recess on 19 December, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had so far failed to confirm if and when the announcement would happen.

Jo Carby, chief executive of Wigan & Leigh Hospice, said her hospice was "constantly battling to keep its services running".

She said: "Every year the costs increase, and this year's National Insurance increase means an even bigger hike to our running costs, three quarters of which are staffing costs.

"We are currently budgeting for next year, and finding out we would get some news about government funding before Christmas was really going to help us with that process.

"If that's no longer happening, it will mean more uncertainty about the future and more of a need to rely on our local community, who already do so much, for support."

When Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced in her autumn Budget that employer NI contributions were to rise, hospices said the change could have devastating consequences for the sector.

According to Hospice UK, a fifth of hospices in the UK had to cut services in the past year, despite growing demand for them.

The employer NI rise is due to come in in April, and the government is set to cover the extra cost to its own departments, including the health service, public corporations, and councils.

But hospices are predominantly independent and rely heavily on charity to cover the two-thirds of their costs not covered by a government grant.

As a result, they will have to cover their increased costs themselves unless the DHSC commits to the changes Mr Streeting had previously spoken about.

DHSC has not committed to a pre-Christmas announcement in response to the BBC's latest enquiries.

Some hospices have been banking on a pre-Christmas announcement to know how to balance their books in 2025.

'Too late'

Care for people with terminal or long-term serious illnesses has been in sharp focus in recent weeks with the passing of the landmark Terminal Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was the first step towards legalised assisted dying.

"So much has been said in recent weeks about the importance of palliative and end of life care but if we don't get some decisions on funding soon, they may come too late for many in the sector," Ms Carby added.

A spokesman for the DHSC said: "We are working to make sure everyone has access to high-quality end of life care.

"The choices the Chancellor made in the Budget allowed us to invest another £26bn in the NHS.

"We are looking at how we can financially support hospices next year to ensure they are sustainable."