logo
'Without the public's help we would not exist'

'Without the public's help we would not exist'

Yahoo16-04-2025
A Herefordshire hospice has revealed how they are facing a major increase in referrals - and say it's "essential" they raise more money.
St Michael's Hospice in Hereford is attempting to open up a large new furniture and homeware store in Shropshire, as a way of getting extra cash.
They have revealed that more than 80% of their funding now relies on public donations - at a time when they are facing escalating costs and a rise in referrals of 119 per cent since 2017.
Chief executive Matt Fellows said: "It's a real challenge, as it is for hospices around the country at the moment."
Mr Fellows also said he was concerned that hospices face a postcode lottery when it comes to funding.
"We've got a continued cost of living pressure, and we feel that - the National Insurance changes this year alone cost us £240,000," he said.
He also added that people are living longer as a society, but not necessarily healthier.
"We're seeing people referred with greater complexity, across the UK, within palliative and end-of-life care," he said.
"It's a big struggle (to fund everything) - in round figures it costs around £12 million a year to run everything here, we get £2 million from the National Health Service so we've got to find £10 million from our community.
"We are incredibly fortunate in that they are very generous - but actually if our community stopped funding us, we would cease to exist pretty quickly."
St Michael's Hospice cared for 2,300 people last year - that's compared to just over 1,000 people in 2017.
The furniture store will be on a manufacturing site in Ludlow - a planning application is currently being considered by Shropshire Council.
In the application, it states that the hospice's services 'will be at risk' unless the plan is approved.
Mary Roche, who is 42 and lives in Hereford, is a Stage 4 lung cancer patient and has been accessing the hospice's day care services since 2023.
"It's a non-smoking lung cancer - I was diagnosed when I was 39, I coughed up a lot of blood and went for an X-ray," she said.
"I come here for counselling and to see the physio, and they've also been very good with counselling to support my family," she said.
"I come in and feel calm. I just think it's crazy that hospices are so underfunded across the country - it's just mind-boggling really."
In December hospices across England were awarded £100m of government funding over two years to improve end-of-life care.
Another £26m was promised to hospices for children and young people, which was a continuation of money previously given through a grant.
It came after hospice leaders warned they were forced to close beds due to increasing financial pressures.
Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hereford
Hospices to share £775k to upgrade facilities
Hospices in England to receive £100m funding boost
St Michael's Hospice
Hospice UK
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

How State Pensioners can boost DWP State Pension and income beyond retirement
How State Pensioners can boost DWP State Pension and income beyond retirement

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

How State Pensioners can boost DWP State Pension and income beyond retirement

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) pays a maximum of £230.25 per week in the new State Pension. While this amount is ample to live comfortably and cover basic costs for the majority of people, many will not receive this amount. It's vital to boost National Insurance years and maximise savings wherever possible to ensure that when you retire, you have plenty to fall back on. Read more: Parents warned of 'hidden crisis' as childcare costs push 1 in 6 to credit cards details three ways Brits can boost their pension pot. Adding back National Insurance Years Gaps in your National Insurance contributions can have a significantly negative impact on your State Pension amount. While National Insurance is a social security contribution paid by employers, employees, and self-employed workers to the government, there are many cases when people miss contributions for various reasons. To add these contributions back, and therefore boost your State Pensions, you can: Get National Insurance credits Make voluntary National Insurance contributions to fill gaps in your record Work and pay National Insurance contributions until you reach State Pension age Delay your State Pension For every year that you hold back claiming State Pension, payments can rise by 'just under 5.8 per cent'. The government explains: "Your State Pension will increase every week you delay (defer) claiming it, as long as you defer for at least nine weeks. "You cannot build up this extra State Pension if you get certain benefits. Deferring can also affect how much you can get in benefits." Pension Credit The DWP offers Pension Credit to help boost people's payments and assist with living expenses. There are two forms available: Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit. Guarantee Credit boosts your weekly income to a specified minimum, Savings Credit offers extra money if you have savings or an income exceeding the basic State Pension.

Reeves's inflation shock forces Bank of England to gamble
Reeves's inflation shock forces Bank of England to gamble

Yahoo

time16-07-2025

  • Yahoo

Reeves's inflation shock forces Bank of England to gamble

After costly policy reversals by her boss and an unexpected shrinking of the economy, the last thing the Chancellor needed was an inflation shock. Yet that's exactly what Rachel Reeves has been handed. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday show inflation accelerated to 3.6pc in June, leaving Britain with the highest rate among G7 countries, according to the latest data available. This means the Bank of England (BoE) is unlikely to help Reeves out – as investors are now less confident of a rate cut next month, though it is still likely, and hopes of action later in the year are also fading. 'Unfortunately for the BoE, things will likely get worse before they get better,' warns Zara Nokes, at JP Morgan Asset Management. Higher-for-longer interest rates will elevate the Chancellor's borrowing costs and drag on growth. It adds to the Chancellor's many woes ahead of what looks to be another painful autumn Budget Reeves own goal Inflation jumped by more than expected in June to its highest level in more than a year. ONS figures show that consumer prices rose by 3.6pc in the 12 months to June, up from 3.4pc in May. This is the highest rate since February last year. The rise was 0.2 percentage points above analyst expectations. The most problematic aspect of the UK's high inflation rate, which is well above the Bank of England's 2pc target, is how much it differs from similar countries. It is by far the highest inflation rate of any G7 country, though Japan's June reading is due later this week. In fact, other large European economies are struggling more with low inflation, a sign of households and businesses feeling nervous and reluctant to spend. Prices are rising by 0.8pc in France and 1.7pc in Italy. In Germany, meanwhile, prices in June were exactly 2pc higher than a year ago – the holy grail for rate setters. Even in the US, where Donald Trump is actively driving up prices with his aggressive and controversial tariffs, inflation was just 2.7pc last month. Only in Japan have prices risen faster than in the UK this year – but its inflation rate is forecast to ease to 3.3pc in June when final numbers are reported. 'The UK is again becoming an international outlier to the upside on inflation,' warns Andrew Wishart at Berenberg. 'The problem stems entirely from domestic price pressures, which have been exacerbated by the Government's choices on the minimum wage and employers' National Insurance contributions.' In other words, Reeves has hardly helped herself by hitting employers with the twin pressures of a £25bn tax raid and another inflation-busting minimum wage rise. Both took effect in April, when bills typically rise and the energy price cap also went up. June's inflation data suggests businesses are passing much of this increased cost on to customers in the form of higher prices. Food for thought The ONS said the jump in inflation was driven by higher food prices and transport costs, in particular petrol and diesel prices. It comes after the war between Israel and Iran prompted a spike in oil prices. Oil has fallen from a peak seen at the start of the year but remains higher than it was at the start of June. Flight tickets also rose by 7.9pc between May and June, the fastest rise for this time of year since 2018. While these factors are largely outside the Government's control, food prices have risen every month since Ms Reeves's National Insurance tax raid on employers took effect in April. Richard Heys from the ONS said: 'Food price inflation has increased for the third consecutive month to its highest annual rate since February of last year.' Food prices rose by 4.5pc in the year to June, climbing from a rate of 4.4pc in May. It follows warnings from retailers that this would be an inevitable consequence of surging employment costs. 'Despite fierce competition between retailers, the ongoing impact of the last Budget and poor harvests caused by the extreme weather have resulted in prices for consumers rising,' says Kris Hamer at the British Retail Consortium. 'The price of many staples rose on the previous month, including bread, rice and pasta.' Struggling economy The timing could hardly be worse for the Chancellor. After fast growth at the start of the year, the economy has effectively ground to a halt. It shrank by 0.1pc in May, after declining by 0.3pc in April. Tariffs, tax rises and global uncertainty have left bosses fearful. The latest figures from the professional body for chartered accountants ICAEW show confidence among business leaders is at a three-year low. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that the employment market is in a sorry state. Companies are only advertising 736,000 jobs – the lowest outside of Covid since spring 2015. The unemployment rate is at its highest level since just after the final lockdowns ended, at 4.6pc. All of this makes for grim reading in Downing Street. What it means for rates For policymakers at the Bank of England, meanwhile, it means any decision they make is a gamble. Cutting interest rates too slowly risks placing unnecessary burdens on already-struggling businesses and leaving lots of people unemployed. Move too fast, however, and already high inflation could run out of control. Andrew Bailey, the Bank's Governor, has suggested a weakening job market could make him act more decisively. But while markets are still pricing in a rate cut from their current level of 4.25pc in August and another one later in the year, economists are starting to worry. 'August will be a close call,' says Wishart. 'If the data between now and Aug 7 suggest price pressures will remain high and the labour market is stabilising, a majority for a pause in interest rate cuts should emerge.' Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG, says: 'Today's data suggests underlying inflationary pressures remain persistent. This is unlikely to ease concerns about the potential second-round effects from the tax measures and may reinforce the Monetary Policy Committee's cautious stance ahead of next month's meeting.' All of this could spell further trouble for Reeves. While higher inflation tends to boost receipts for the Treasury, it also adds to costs. On top of that, investors in gilts – as UK government bonds are known – are on edge. Government borrowing costs jumped after the ONS inflation numbers came out, with yields on 10-year gilts up by four basis points to 4.66pc. 'Markets must be starting to question the prospect of an August rate cut,' says former rate setter Andrew Sentance. If hopes of a rate cut do dwindle, it will be yet another blow for an unhappy Chancellor desperately battling to get her budget back on track. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

Enough with black-hole blaming, Reeves is ignoring low hanging fruit
Enough with black-hole blaming, Reeves is ignoring low hanging fruit

Yahoo

time15-07-2025

  • Yahoo

Enough with black-hole blaming, Reeves is ignoring low hanging fruit

Raising taxes and plugging black holes, Labour's discourse ignores proven (and easier) methods to boost productivity, says Paul Ormerod The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has a major financial problem. Much of this is of her own making. Her relentlessly negative narrative about the UK economy has in itself created a stagnant economy. The issue she faces is how to balance the books. Or, rather, how to create the semblance of balancing the books. The amounts spent on debt interest and welfare benefits alone mean that, without truly drastic measures, the government will run large fiscal deficits for the foreseeable future. The whole discourse in government is around which taxes to raise to try and plug the black holes which Reeves has created. Labour luminaries from the past have joined in the debate. The former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has called for a wealth tax. This, we might recall, is the same Neil Kinnock who contrived to lose the 1992 election despite the economy being in recession because the electorate at the time did not trust his economic competence. Ed Balls, a former shadow Chancellor, is a serious economist. His contribution is to argue for an increase in the rate at which employees pay National Insurance, a rise in income tax in all but name. This entire debate is framed around the question of how to pay for an already massive amount of public spending in a static economy. But Balls at least appreciates that the only sustainable way out of the dilemma is to reinvigorate growth in productivity and output. He advocates for this reason a capital gains tax-style cut for people growing their businesses. Yet this is merely to scratch the surface. There are measures available to Reeves which, at relatively little cost, could do a great deal to boost productivity growth. This is an absolute imperative, given that since 2019 it has grown by barely one per cent a year. The modern theory of economic growth was developed by the MIT academic Robert Solow in a paper published in 1956. It was a pathbreaking piece for which he subsequently received the Nobel prize. In essence, he formalised the way in which increases in both the capital stock and the labour force led to economic growth. There was a third factor in his model, which Solow described rather enigmatically as 'technical progress'. By this he meant not so much innovative new ideas, but the spread of both better technologies and better ways of working to existing firms. Shortly after the paper was published, economists began analysing data to see which of these three factors made the biggest contribution to growth in practice. For the developed economies, the answer came as something of a surprise. The most important contribution to economic growth was made by existing firms using existing knowledge to become more productive. In the UK today, there is plenty of low hanging fruit in this area. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the differences in productivity within companies in the same industry is quite striking. Looking at firms at the very top and those at the bottom, the former can easily be four or five times more productive. And these are companies within the same industry, usually defined very narrowly. In manufacturing, for example, there is already a network of institutes which assist SMEs to improve productivity, such as the CPI in Sedgefield, the National Composite Centre in Bristol and the Royce and Graphene Institutes in Manchester. But their total budget is tiny in national terms, a mere £300m a year. Big infrastructure announcements generate a lot of publicity, which is why politicians of all parties like them when they are in power. But a set of policies which target raising productivity in SMEs will be much more effective. Paul Ormerod is an honorary professor at the Alliance Business School at the University of Manchester and an economist at Volterra Partners LLP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store