Autumn Budget: Liz Jarvis MP urges Chancellor to go further on hospice support

In response to a letter from Liz Jarivs MP to the Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, Social Care Minister Alison McGovern said she recognised the financial pressures hospices face and said the Government is developing a new framework for palliative care, which will consider 24/7 community support. She also agreed to meet with Ms Jarvis.

However, the response did not mention new revenue funding for adult hospices, or a timeline for fair, multi-year NHS contracts. Hospices in England have faced a real-terms funding cut of £47 million between 2022 and 2024, and almost six in ten have cut services or are considering it.

Liz Jarvis MP said:

“Warm words and good intentions are welcome, but hospices need firm commitments. The Chancellor must give Hospice care the attention it deserves in the autumn budget.

“It is encouraging that 24/7 community support is being considered but hospices can’t plan or keep staff on intentions alone. They need sustainable funding, fair multi-year contracts, and funding allocated by need, so that no one’s care at the end of their life depends on their postcode.

“Hospices like Mountbatten do a fantastic job and help take huge pressure off our hospitals and ambulance services. I look forward to meeting the Minister, and I will keep pressing the Government to go further to support hospice care.”

Becky McGregor, Mountbatten Hampshire, and Mountbatten Isle of Wight CEO said: 

“Innovative services like Mountbatten Hampshire, which are heavily charity-funded, are preventing unnecessary calls to 111, reducing call-outs for stretched NHS ambulance teams, cutting the number of people attending A&E, and stopping admissions to in-demand acute hospital beds. 

“Recently, ‘John’ rang us to praise Mountbatten Hampshire’s community team nurses, who visited his wife when she was dying at home. He called them his ‘guardian angels’, telling us he could not have managed without their supportive overnight visit. His experience — needing face-to-face support in the depths of the night — echoes that of many of the people Mountbatten Hampshire cares for.”