§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what resources he plans to make available to help fund hospices.; [137251]
381W(2) if hospices will be eligible for financial help as part of the Government's commitment to cancer services. [137252]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 7 November 2000]: We are committed to providing an additional £50 million for hospices by 2004 as announced in the National Health Service Cancer Plan published on 27 September. This will bring the total NHS spend on hospices to £150 million, which will be equal to the amount provided by the voluntary sector. The £50 million investment will be used to end inequalities in access to specialist palliative care and enable the NHS to make a more realistic contribution to the cost hospices incur in providing agreed levels of service.
In order to ensure that the additional funding is allocated effectively and equitably, we will work with hospices and the NHS to define the core components of palliative care services.
In addition to the £50 million there will be a further New Opportunities Fund initiative for community palliative care services over the period 2001–05. A consultation document was be published on 8 November 2000.