Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on the operation of hospices of the increase in employer pension contributions.

The Department has made no assessment of the impact the increase in the NHS Pension Scheme employer contribution rate will have on hospice operations. It is for hospices as individual employers to oversee how they operate within the available budget.

In addition to the long-term funding settlement for the National Health Service, HM Treasury committed to providing extra funding to meet the costs of to the NHS arising from the ongoing actuarial valuation of the NHS Pension Scheme. Work is ongoing to ensure the additional cost to participating employers is appropriately funded. Discussions are underway with NHS England and NHS Improvement to determine the optimum method for distributing this funding to NHS commissioners and service providers. Arrangements will be confirmed in due course.