Wes Streeting confirms funding announcement on hospices before Christmas Day and for other health and social care providers by the end of January.
Today (18/12/24), Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed during his appearance before the Health and Social Care Committee that a funding announcement for hospices will be made before Christmas, with broader funding plans for Health and Social Care to follow by 31 January. This is a significant breakthrough which came when pressed by Committee Member Joe Robertson MP.
The statement comes amid mounting pressure from Parliament, charities and sector groups urging the government to address the rising costs caused to health and social care providers by the Employer National Insurance Contribution (NICs) increase announced budget earlier this year.
Across the sector, health organisations have been sounding the alarm about the rise in NICs and the additional financial strain it will place on them. The Nuffield Trust estimates that social care providers will face an additional £900 million in costs through NIC rises alone. Community Pharmacy England expects a £50 million cost for community pharmacies, while the BMA warns the policy could siphon £260 million from the national GP budget—equivalent to 2,000 full-time GPs.
Joe Robertson MP said, “It is very significant that Wes Streeting has today confirmed he will make an announcement on funding for hospices before Christmas Day and for other health and social care providers, like GPs, Community Pharmacy, and Hospices, ‘in the New Year’.
“When I pressed him whether ‘in the New Year’ meant January, he confirmed that it does.
“The decision to increase National Insurance Contributions will have a long-term, devastating effect on non-NHS health providers like GPs, Dentists, Pharmacists, Optometrists, Hospices, and Social Care providers.
“The Health Secretary has now confirmed the January deadline for a funding announcement, and he now needs to make sure that it goes above and beyond the money the Government are taking away from non-NHS providers through the Budget.”
