Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the services of hospices and private care homes in the light of the increase in National Insurance contributions and other increased costs in the budget.

The biggest investment in a generation for hospices has been announced by the Government, ensuring that hospices can continue to deliver the highest quality end of life care possible for their patients, families, and loved ones.

This was through a £100 million boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26 million of revenue to support children and young people’s hospices. Further details of the funding allocation and dissemination will be set out this year.

To support local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes a £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget. The employer National Insurance contribution rise will be implemented April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course, including through planning guidance.