Thank you for contacting me about the impact of rising energy bills, specifically on hospices. I understand your concerns.
I can assure you that the Government is taking action to support hospices so they can continue to provide compassionate quality care to patients. My colleagues and I understand that hospices must be able to continue the incredible support and comfort they offer to those suffering from a terminal condition.
Hospices benefit from the Government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), which reduces expenditure on energy and offers certainty over their budgets. In April 2023, the EBRS will be replaced by the Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) which will run until March 2024. The EBDS will support hospices by providing a discount on gas and electricity unit prices.
Hospices will receive a per-unit discount to their energy bills from April 2023 to March 2024, subject to a maximum discount. The discount will be applied if wholesale prices are above a certain price threshold. For most non-domestic energy users in the UK these maximum discounts have been set at £19.61 per megawatt hour (MWh) with a price threshold of £302 per MWh for electricity, and at £6.97 per MWh with a price threshold of £107 per MWh for gas.
In addition to the Government’s support for energy bills, NHS England is supporting palliative and end-of-life care across the country. For example, palliative and end-of-life care for children and young people is being supported through the Children and Young People’s hospice grant, providing £21 million in 2022/23, rising to £25 million in 2023/24.
Furthermore, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, up to £5 million in 2022/23 of match funding has been made available to commissioners who increase their overall level of investment in local children’s palliative and end-of-life care services, rising to up to £7 million in 2023/24.
I am grateful for the work which is done by our local Hospice on the Island, Mountbatten, and thank all the staff and volunteers for the invaluable support given to Islanders.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.