Financial boost on way for hospices

The government is likely to offer a financial boost to the hospice sector amid fears many are at risk of closure because of the double blow of the employers' national insurance rise and higher wage bills, the Guardian understands.

- Rowena Mason & Jessica Elgot

Officials have been looking at the options for providing more funding to hospices and other end-of-life care through the NHS partly to offset the impact of the national insurance rise, which the sector believes could cost it £30m a year. Hospices were already struggling with higher wage bills to match the 5.5% pay rise given to public medical workers, with the sector overall estimating an additional shortfall of about £60m.

Whitehall sources said nothing was a done deal but it is understood three main options had been considered: offsetting all or part of the national insurance rise for non-NHS providers of end-of-life care; funding staff pay rises that match NHS terms and conditions every year; or a direct funding pot for hospices rather than end-oflife care more broadly. Pressed last week on hospices, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, suggested it was a "matter for the NHS to make the allocation of money to, for example, hospices as well as GP surgeries".