A Bolton MP has called on the Prime Minister to ask what action is being taken to make sure hospices can be "put on a sustainable financial footing".

Bolton West MP Phil Brickell, addressed Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons about the difficult financial situations many hospices are facing.

Mr Brickell highlighted the Save Bolton Hospice campaign, which has been run by The Bolton News, and asked what steps the Prime Minister will take to improve hospice funding. 

He said: "Bolton Hospice provides vital services to individuals with life-limiting conditions, yet, like hospices across the country, it faces a difficult financial future and is reliant on fundraising, including the kind donations I was able to raise when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year and from the campaign run by the local paper, The Bolton News. 

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"Can the Prime Minister tell me what steps he is taking to ensure hospices like the one in Bolton are put on a sustainable financial footing?" 

Sir Keir replied: "I first congratulate him on his efforts in relation to the local hospice. We want everyone to have access to high-quality care and end-of-life care. 

"That is why we require all local NHS bodies to commission services from hospices to meet the needs of their local populations. 

"Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations (who) also receive funding for providing NHS services.

"We have inherited a huge problem with the £22bn black hole, nonetheless we are determined to move forward on this." 

A petition has been started by Bolton's Corin Dalby, who runs energy consultancy Box Power CIC, to use Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) bank fines for hospices and it has attracted more than 36,000 signatures. Hospice across the country are backing the idea.

To see the petition, follow this link: https://www.change.org/p/save-the-first-100-million-of-fca-bank-fines-for-hospices

Corin said: “As a supporter of several hospices, it is heartbreaking to see many who have invested time and fundraising to keep hospices open struggle to cover the basic operating costs.

“Some have tirelessly fundraised to build precious rooms left empty because they cannot fund them due to cost constraints, placing added burden on donations.

"It is shocking, despite the reality that a well-funded hospice sector would ease the pressure on NHS and social care, hospices only receive between 20-33 per cent of state funding.

“There are hundreds of millions in annual FCA fines which go into the government pot and generally as a result of an injustice to the UK people who may benefit from the services offered by hospices, there is no better way to complete the circle by allocating these funds to the UK hospice sector.”