Hospices are being handed back money taken from them by Labour’s national insurance raid repackaged as bumper new funding, it is claimed.
The Government yesterday said adult and children’s hospices will receive £100 million to help with providing end of life care in what it described as the ‘biggest investment in a generation’.
But the Conservatives accused ministers of taking millions of pounds from hospices and palliative care charities in the autumn Budget – before telling them to be ‘grateful’ for getting some money back.
Shadow health minister Dr Caroline Johnson criticised Labour for having ‘the audacity’ to make such a claim, adding: ‘This is socialism at its finest.’
Tory former health minister Neil O’Brien, who described Chancellor Rachel Reeves as the ‘Grinch who stole Christmas’ when she hiked employers’ national insurance contributions in her October statement, yesterday called for charities and voluntary groups to be exempted from the increase.
Hospice organisations have previously said they would face further financial burden without such an exemption.
While Hospice UK said the latest funding would be ‘hugely welcomed’, end-of-life charity Marie Curie warned a one-off investment will not be enough to make the improvements needed.
Speaking in the Commons before Parliament breaks up for Christmas, health minister Karin Smyth was repeatedly asked whether the £100 million funding would cover the costs in the NICs rise but declined to answer directly.
The Keir Starmer-led (pictured) Government yesterday said adult and children’s hospices will receive £100 million to help with providing end of life care in what it described as the ‘biggest investment in a generation’
Hospices are being handed back money taken from them by Labour ’s national insurance raid repackaged as bumper new funding, it is claimed (File image)
Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said a hospice which serves his Harwich and North Essex constituency estimates the national insurance changes will cost them £300,000 in a full year, asking: ‘Can the minister now give a guarantee that they will be compensated by the Government in full?’
Ms Smyth replied: ‘We will announce allocations for the whole sector and the NHS in the usual way in the new year.’
Tory MP Martin Vickers said any increase in funding for hospices is welcome, but added: ‘This (funding announcement) let’s be honest, is giving with one hand and taking with the other.’
The Department of Health and Social Care also confirmed a separate £26 million in continued grant funding for next year under the Children’s Hospice Grant.
In a written statement, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said it is ‘only right’ hospices are given the financial support to provide their services, while care minister Stephen Kinnock said the funding ‘will allow hospices to improve their physical and operational environment, enabling them to provide the best possible care to their patients’.
Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said: ‘Today’s announcement will be hugely welcomed by hospices, and those who rely on their services.
‘Hospices not only provide vital care for patients and families, but also relieve pressure on the NHS.
The Conservatives accused ministers of taking millions of pounds from hospices and palliative care charities in the autumn Budget (File image)
‘This funding will allow hospices to continue to reach hundreds of thousands of people every year with high-quality, compassionate care.’
Ralph Coulbeck, chief executive at Haven House children’s hospice, said it is ‘a relief’ to know the children’s grant is being maintained next year, adding that it will ‘help to support the vital care we provide to seriously ill children and families’.
Matthew Reed, chief executive of Marie Curie, described the palliative and end-of-life care system as being ‘in crisis’ with access to the right care depending often on where someone lives.
He said: ‘Marie Curie welcome additional investment in the palliative care sector and look forward to further clarification on how this funding will be used to ensure better care for all dying people who need it.
‘However, a restricted and one-off investment is not going to meet the recurring cost pressures, and ongoing needs of the sector – including the long-term implications of additional national insurance contributions, ongoing pressures as a result of rising costs of pay, and increased numbers of people dying over the next 20 years.’
