§ Lord Hayhoeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What increases in funding for voluntary hospices have been made in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what further increases are planned for future years. [HL5235]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathTotal expenditure (1999–2000) on adult specialist care services has been estimated by the National Council for Hospices and Specialist Palliative Care to be around £300 million, of which around £130 million comes from the National Health Service.
The Government have pledged in the NHS Cancer Plan that funding for specialist palliative care services in England including hospices, will increase by £50 million per annum by 2004. This investment is included in the overall NHS investment for implementing the Cancer Plan. How this funding is deployed locally will depend on the needs of the area. We are currently reviewing the outturn position for 2001–02 and the progress in that year.