Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
His Majesty’s Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
Westminster
SW1A 2HQ

Dear Chancellor,

We are writing to you again about the escalating crisis facing the UK hospice sector — a crisis that has materially worsened in the twelve months since the Government declined to adopt the additional funding proposal we put forward last year.

One year ago, I stood outside 10 Downing Street, supported by 110 MPs from across all parties and over 40,000 members of the public, calling on Government to commit the first £100 million of FCA bank fines each year as additional day-to-day funding for the UK’s 200 hospices. The purpose was clear and urgent: not simply to preserve a shrinking number of beds, but to stabilise services, support staff, and reopen beds that charities have already fundraised to build.

Twelve months on, it cannot go unnoticed — by the public, by hospice providers, or by families directly affected — that the sector-wide deficit now facing adult and children’s hospices is understood to be approximately £100 million. This is precisely the level of funding we asked Government to secure last year.

We acknowledge, and the sector welcomed, the Government’s one-off £100 million capital allocation. However, capital does not pay nurses’ salaries, keep beds staffed, or ensure round-the-clock care. Since that announcement, the situation on the ground has deteriorated sharply. More beds have closed, services have been reduced, staff have been lost, and this week Richard House Children’s Hospice announced its closure.

While the forthcoming Modern Service Framework review may seek to address structural issues over the longer term, hospices do not need theoretical reform at a future date — they need sustainable revenue funding now. The nature of FCA bank fines makes this funding route uniquely appropriate: it would command broad public support, sit alongside longer-term reform, and give the sector a genuine chance to reopen beds that are already built but standing empty.

To us, the state of the hospice sector is a bellwether for who we are as a country and the values we choose to uphold.

This week alone, the public has seen £44 million in FCA bank fines collected, taking the total to £124 million already raised in 2025, following £176 million in 2024. At the same time, frontline end-of-life care is being withdrawn in communities across the country. This money quietly flows into Treasury coffers while hospices struggle to fund pain relief, staffing, and dignity at the end of life.
This contrast is stark — and increasingly indefensible.

Why this matters now
Hospices are not asking for new buildings or ambitious expansion. They are fighting to fund:

• nurses and carers,
• staffed beds,
• essential medicines,
• and compassionate, dignified care for dying patients and their families.

The sector’s financial position has worsened further since last year, with many hospices now burning through reserves simply to survive.

Today, we write with sadness, frustration, and determination — because despite clear warnings:

• the hospice sector is now in deep crisis;
• more beds have closed;
• deficits are larger than last year;
• and yet, hundreds of millions of pounds in bank fines continue to be collected.

So we ask plainly:

How many more hospices must cut services or close beds? How many more families must lose access to care when they need it most? How many more warnings must be given before decisive action is taken?

This is not a partisan issue. It is not a political abstraction. It is a human one.

Hospices provide dignity, compassion, and peace at the most vulnerable moment of life. They are not optional. They are not luxuries. They are a reflection of who we are as a society.

We urge you to act and await your response.

Yours sincerely, Corin Dalby