§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list those hospices that have received funds from the money which was earmarked for palliative care in the NHS Cancer Plan in 2003–04; and how much of the money has been retained by NHS trusts; [135385]
(2) if he will make a statement on the grounds on which funds from the NHS Cancer Plan for palliative care are allocated to hospices. [135386]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonWe do not hold a centralised list of those hospices that have received funding from the additional £50 million for specialist palliative care, the allocation of which was recently announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. This additional money is for specialist palliative care services in their entirety, and not for voluntary hospices alone. 1 he overall level of funding for hospices, both from allocation to cancer networks from the £50 million and from local resources, is a matter for local discussion and agreement.
The National Partnership Group for palliative care (NPG) which is made up of representatives from the voluntary sector (including hospices), the national health service and the Department, set out clear criteria for the use of the funding, which included evidence of local consultation and partnership working between all stakeholders in deciding how the additional funding should be invested.