Hospice Expresses Concern Over Delayed Pre-Christmas Funding Announcement

A hospice located in Greater Manchester has stated that a lack of government funding would lead to “uncertainty for the future”. In November, Health Secretary Wes Streeting indicated that the Labour administration intended to “make sure we’re protecting our hospices” through modifications to the funding provided to the sector, aiming to alleviate the strain of rising National Insurance (NI) costs for personnel. Mr. Streeting had previously informed BBC Breakfast that specific details regarding this funding would be disclosed prior to Christmas. However, as Parliament entered recess on 19 December, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had not yet confirmed whether or when such an announcement would occur. Jo Carby, the chief executive of Wigan & Leigh Hospice, commented that her organization was “constantly battling to keep its services running”. She stated: “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.” Carby added: “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.” She continued: “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.” Following Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ announcement in her autumn Budget regarding an increase in employer NI contributions, hospices expressed concerns that this alteration could have severe repercussions for the sector. Data from Hospice UK indicates that one-fifth of hospices across the UK were compelled to reduce services over the last year, even amidst increasing demand. The increase in employer NI is scheduled to take effect in April, with the government planning to absorb the additional expense for its own departments, such as the health service, public corporations, and councils. However, hospices are largely independent entities, depending significantly on charitable donations to fund two-thirds of their expenditures not covered by government grants. Consequently, these organizations will be responsible for their own increased costs unless the DHSC formalizes the changes that Mr. Streeting had previously mentioned. In response to recent inquiries from the BBC, the DHSC has not confirmed a pre-Christmas announcement. Several hospices had been anticipating a pre-Christmas announcement to inform their financial planning for 2025. The provision of care for individuals with terminal or serious long-term illnesses has garnered significant attention in recent weeks, coinciding with the passage of the pivotal Terminal Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which represents the initial move towards legalizing 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 further stated. A spokesperson for the DHSC commented: “We are working to make sure everyone has access to high-quality end of life care.” The spokesperson added: “The choices the Chancellor made in the Budget allowed us to invest another £26bn in the NHS.” They also stated: “We are looking at how we can financially support hospices next year to ensure they are sustainable.”