Rachel Reeves’ crippling tax rises put hospices on the brink | United Kingdom | News

A campaigning couple flanked by 20 MPs have demanded the Government save our country’s hospices, telling us how Rachel Reeves’ tax and pay rises are crippling them with higher bills.

Entrepreneurs Corin, 55, and Tricia Dalby, 52, were horrified to discover how National Insurance (NI) and minimum wage budget increases have saddled UK charities and hospices with debt in difficulty.

This week, the Daily Express explained that, according to experts, the NI rise alone would have left children’s hospices in England with a total of £5 million extra per year on their collective bills.

So on Tuesday, husband and wife Dalbys from Bolton, who run not-for-profit energy company Box Power CIC, visited Downing Street with 20 rebellious cross-party MPs, demanding urgent action.

Their 37,000-name petition calls on the Government to allocate the first £100m each year from fines issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), banks and other organisations, to support hospices.

The Dalbys were joined on the steps of Number 10 by six of their nearly 90 signatory MPs: Conservatives Andrew Griffith, Matt Vickers and Iain Duncan Smith, Brian Mathew of the Liberal Democrats and Alex Sobel and Phil Brickell of Labor.

Mr Brickell, MP for Bolton West, highlighted: “Hospices, including Bolton Hospice which I continue to support, provide absolutely vital support to those who need it. »

Afterward, Mr Dalby told the Daily Express: “We launched this campaign after seeing that the financial situation of hospices was deteriorating – with nothing being done to help.

“We run Box Power CIC, a not-for-profit energy consultancy, and our profits go to charities including hospices. We have witnessed the impact of COVID, skyrocketing energy bills and the cost of living crisis hit the market. the palliative care sector.

“But the recent increase in National Insurance is just another addition to the long list of financial pressures they face!”

Explaining what action he wants now, he added: “Our campaign is seeking a short-term solution, setting aside the first £100m of FCA fines each year to fund palliative care and help cover their current deficit .

“So far, the FCA has raised more than £174 million this year alone.

“Our proposal includes an immediate release of £75 million for the palliative care sector, followed by a further £75 million by April and each March thereafter, the first £100 million of FCA fines to be allocated to palliative care.

“My view, and it seems others share it, is that surely this money is better spent helping those who support us at the end of our lives rather than funding day-to-day government spending?

“I have spoken to the CEOs of many hospices and it is heartbreaking to hear about the difficult choices, including job cuts and closures, that they are being forced to make after years of economic uncertainty.

“We wanted to show the government that instead of playing with small amounts of money that make no difference to the funding crisis hospices are facing, there is a better, more ethical way to help fill some of the gap. gap, which enjoys cross-party support across the country.”

Thanking his huge army of MP supporters – and a coalition of at least 30 different hospices – he continued: “With the support of more than 90 MPs and peers, we hope our campaign can persuade the Government to take radical action .

“Palliative care is something we will all need at some point in our lives, and the question of how to sustainably fund their vital work has been ignored for too long.

“We urge the Prime Minister to support our FCA palliative care funding plan, listen to the many MPs we have brought to Number 10 and help them secure funding which I believe could not be better spent elsewhere .”

Hospices across the country said they were under financial pressure, with many using their reserves to continue operating.

Unlike the NHS, hospices are not fully publicly funded and receive around a third of their funding from the government. The sector has reported an estimated deficit of £60 million in the current financial year alone.

Mr Dalby summed up his concern: “I think that’s why we have cross-party MPs because it’s not political, it’s personal. Hospices are there for their community.”

The FCA operates independently of the government, but money raised from fines helps fund public services such as the NHS, police and schools.

Banks have already been fined millions of pounds this year for various breaches, including customer treatment, fraud and serious failures of systems and controls.

A fifth of hospices have cut services and many have warned staff of widespread layoffs amid the worst cash flow crisis ever.

Across Britain, 200 facilities serving 300,000 adults and children receive only between 17 and 32 percent of their funding from health budgets, with the rest coming from donations and the community.

Tony Collins, managing director of Herriot Hospice Homecare in North Yorkshire, said: “We need funding now and we can’t wait any longer. Hospice beds close. This is a crisis and it requires a response now.

Karen Edwards, CEO of Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley, Lancs, said some hospices were having to make “really difficult decisions”, including cutting frontline nursing staff.

“We need investment now to help hospices survive over the coming months,” she said.

Toby Porter, chief executive of Hospice UK, said: “Anecdotally, we believe around a fifth of hospices are already making budget cuts and with the level of deficits in the sector this will only increase. . This situation cannot continue.”

A government spokesperson said FCA fines were already being used to fund vital public services, including the NHS.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said it wanted everyone to have access to high-quality end-of-life care and was aware of the financial pressures facing the sector.

He adds: “We are determined to move more healthcare into the community and ensure that patients and their families receive high-quality, personalized care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative care will have an important role to play in this change. »

*To support the petition, visit https://www.change.org/p/save-the-first-100-million-of-fca-bank-fines-for-hospices