Oral Answers to Questions Debate
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Peter Bedford
Main Page: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)Department Debates - View all Peter Bedford's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(1 day, 12 hours ago)
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Stephen Kinnock
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. One of the three shifts that the 10-year plan will deliver is shifting more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community. In the context of the plan, we are having discussions about the long-term sustainability of the palliative and end-of-life care sector, including hospices. As we develop the plan, we will be carefully considering policies in this area, with input from the public, patients, health staff and our stakeholders. As I mentioned in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill (Kate Osamor), last week I was pleased to chair a roundtable to discuss long-term strategies for hospices to get palliative and end-of-life care, including hospices, on to a more sustainable footing after 14 years of Tory neglect and incompetence.
Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)
Leicestershire is home to some superb hospices, such as Rainbows and LOROS, both of which are set to be massively impacted by the hike in national insurance contributions. Given the important work that these hospices do, particularly for people at the end of their lives, will the Minister urge the Chancellor to reverse this pernicious tax rise?
Stephen Kinnock
I am once again struck by the fact that Conservative Members seem to welcome the additional investment that the Chancellor has put into our health and care service, but do not seem to have any plan or proposals at all about how the revenue should be generated for that funding. Until we get an answer to that question, we will struggle to get much further in this House, although I note that Toby Porter, the chief executive of Hospice UK, has said that the
“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”.