At Health and Social Care questions, Peter Bedford MP raised concerns about the impact of the upcoming Employers National Insurance (NI) hike on hospices in Mid Leicestershire.
Peter asked:
"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?”
The Minister responded:
"I’m once again struck by the fact that the part opposite seem to welcome the additional investment the Chancellor put into our Health and Care service. But they don’t seem to have any plan or proposals at all for how the revenue should be generated for that funding. So, until we get an answer to that questions, Mr Speaker, I think we are going to struggle to get much further in this House. But what I would note is that Toby Porter, the Chair, the CEO of Hospice UK, 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.”
Peter remains deeply concerned about the financial pressures the NI hike is placing on hospices in Leicestershire.
He will continue to raise this issue in Parliament, advocating for greater support for hospices to ensure they can maintain their critical care for those in need.
