§ Jeff EnnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much financial support(a) adult and (b) children's hospices have received in the past three financial years from social services departments. [188572]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Department does not centrally collate information on about how much financial support hospices received from social services departments.
The latest estimate we have available (from 2000) is that, on average, the national health service funds 28 per cent. of adult and 5 per cent. of children's hospice costs. However, this predates the allocation of an additional £50 million per annum for adult palliative care, which began in 2003–04, representing an increase of about 40 per cent. Funding the services provided by hospices is a matter for negotiation between the hospice concerned and the NHS primary care trusts to which the hospice provides a service. There are no limits to the amount of funding which may be provided; this is for local decision.