Hospices in England to receive extra £100m – but govt will not say if it covers tax hike
Hospices in England will receive an extra £100m to improve buildings, equipment and accommodation, the government has said.
The government announced the £100m will be given to both adult and child hospices in the new year and will cover until the end of the next financial year in April 2026.
A further £26m will be given to children’s hospices for the 2025/26 year, the government said.
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However, the government refused to say if the funding will cover the extra cost of employers’ national insurance rising from 13.8% to 15%, as announced by the chancellor in October’s budget.
There are about 170 hospices in England that provide end of life care for adults, and about 40 for children and young people, while some hospices provide care to both.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations but receive some statutory funding from the government because they provide NHS services.
The government said the money will go towards refurbishing bedrooms and bathrooms, to provide comfortable overnight facilities for families, and improve IT systems to make it easier for GPs and hospitals to share vital data on patients.
It will also be spent on improving garden and outdoor spaces for patients and their families, and to help develop outreach services to support people in their own homes.
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Hospices face funding crisis
Asked multiple times if the funding will cover the national insurance rise, which charities and voluntary groups have said will cost them £1.4bn, health minister Karin Smyth refused to answer in parliament on Thursday.
She said: “This is a welcome announcement that can be used by the sector to manage some of those pressures and deliver the sorts of services they want to do for the future.”
Dr Caroline Johnson, Conservative shadow health secretary, told MPs Labour is “taking millions of pounds off hospices and palliative care charities, and then think they should be grateful when they give them some of it back”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions this week, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said hospices believe the rise will cost them an extra £30m and asked if the government will be funding them to cover the cost.
Sir Keir Starmer said his government had put “a record amount into the NHS in the budget” and said they would set out funding arrangements “in the new year”.
Care minister Stephen Kinnock said: “I am grateful to NHS staff and voluntary organisations, including hospices, for the deeply compassionate care and support they give to end of life patients and their families.
“The £100m capital investment that the government is announcing today will allow hospices to improve their physical and operational environment, enabling them to provide the best possible care to their patients.”
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Kemi Badenoch asked if hospices would have their employers’ national insurance rise covered
Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK, which represents British hospices, said the extra funding will be “hugely welcomed”.
“Hospices not only provide vital care for patients and families, but also relieve pressure on the NHS,” he said.
“This funding will allow hospices to continue to reach hundreds of thousands of people every year with high-quality, compassionate care.
“We look forward to working with the government to make sure everyone approaching the end of life gets the care and support they need, when and where they need it.”
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Nigel Farage has confirmed he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to the Taliban in Afghanistan if he becomes prime minister.
The Reform UK leader’s position on the topic has not been clear, with him previously saying he would send women back to the fundamentalist regime that took over after western militaries withdrew, before now saying he would.
Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham.
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When asked if he would “detain” women and children and “send them back”, the Clacton MP said “yes”.
Challenged on when he said in August that he was not “discussing” women and children, Mr Farage claimed this was a reference to his desire to seeing men detained on arrival in the UK.
At the time he said he was “very, very clear” on the “deportation of illegal immigrants”, adding: “We are not even discussing women and children at this stage – there are so many illegal males in Britain, and the news reports that said that after my conference yesterday were wrong”
Speaking today, Mr Farage claimed that the UK has a “duty of care” if a four-year-old arrives in a dinghy, for example – but not so for women and men.
“For clarity, those that cross the English Channel will be detained and deported, men and women,” Mr Farage went on.
“Children, we’ll have to think about.”
The Reform leader also rowed back on his pledge to stop all boats within two weeks if he is elected prime minister.
Speaking to the conference yesterday, Mr Farage said: “You cannot come here illegally and stay – we will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
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But speaking to Beth Rigby today, he changed tack – saying “the passing of legislation” would be required.
He said the boats would then be stopped within two weeks, or sooner.
In the interview with Rigby, Mr Farage tried to claim he did not say he would end the boats within two weeks of “winning government”.
But the video of his speech, as well as the transcript released by Reform UK, clearly show him saying: “We will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
When asked why he wouldn’t be able to stop the boats within two weeks of winning government, Mr Farage said it was impossible and “no one” can prevent them crossing the Channel.
The Reform UK leader said the law he wants to introduce will be called the Illegal Migration Act once it is passed by parliament.
He confirmed his agenda includes leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, shutting down asylum hotels and housing people at RAF bases instead, as well as deporting Channel migrants.
Mr Farage also claimed that deportation flights would also begin within two weeks of the law changing, and this combination of factors would stop people from wanting to travel from France.
This strategy all depends on Reform UK winning the next general election – which Labour does not have to call until 2029.
However, Mr Farage says he believes the government will collapse in 2027 due to economic pressure and other factors.
Reform are currently well clear of Labour and the Conservatives in the polling, and are targeting next year’s Welsh, Scottish and English local election to try and win more power in councils and national assemblies.
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