THE CEO of a Scottish hospice has blasted the UK Government's National Insurance hike, describing it as "immoral".
Last week MPs voted against exempting hospices from a hike to employers' National Insurance contributions, with the rate having gone up by 1.2 percentage points to 15% this week.
Peers had tabled amendments to the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill, pressing the UK Government to allow ministers to introduce exemptions for the health and social care sector, including hospices, care homes, GP practices, dentists and pharmacies.
LibDem peer Baroness Barker warned the tax hike would "threaten the existence of large numbers of providers", but MPs still chose not to protect these institutions.
Jacki Smart, CEO of Accord Hospice in Paisley and chair of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group, has told The National how many hospices in Scotland are now considering redundancies.
Having already highlighted an "insurmountable funding gap" before Christmas, Smart said the move by the UK Government could be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" for Scottish hospices.
"I don't have another market to go and raise this money in," she told The National.
"We don't charge for our services so we can't increase the price of our services.
"Accord will be £70,000 worse off this year as a result of this decision and Scottish hospices will be £2.2m worse off. Coming into the start of 2024/25 we had a £50m deficit in Scotland and this just adds another £2m onto that.
"It could well be the straw that breaks the camel's back. There are a number of factors that mean a number of hospices in Scotland are currently considering redundancy."
"I've got this view there are two things that happen to you in life that are sure-fire things – one of them is that you're born and the other is you die," she said.
"I believe everyone has the right to that amazing experience at the end of their life and we worry about getting it right because we don't get a second chance. So the more we're under pressure to be cost effective or worse, be distracted by money, makes it more likely we don't get that right for people and that's horrific.
"The moral argument for it is just not right. In making these decisions they're essentially saying it's okay for the public to pay for it. It seems immoral."
She added how £70,000 is essentially the cost of a full-time nurse for a hospice.
As independent charities, hospices provide their care free of charge with approximately a third of their costs funded from the NHS.
After a major push from Scottish hospices, the Scottish Government has made a commitment in its Budget this year for hospices to have £5m of funding and have also committed to progress a funding framework which it is hoped will move hospices back to a model where 50% of their funding is covered by the NHS.
Smart described this as a "welcome commitment", but hospices are still looking for the Scottish Government to offer further support to mitigate the effect of the National Insurance hike.
She has also urged the UK Government to reconsider and "acknowledge the contribution hospices make to the health and care sector".
SNP MP Dave Doogan said in the Commons terminally ill children would suffer as a result of the National Insurance rise.
MPs voted 312 to 190, majority 122, to reject the introduction of exemptions.
Treasury minister James Murray said at the time: “The revenue raised from the measures in this bill will play a critical role in repairing the public finances and rebuilding our public services."
Hundreds of thousands of businesses are set to lay off workers due to the National Insurance increase, surveys showed last month.
An employment index compiled by the consultancy BDO slid to 94.30 in February from 94.72, towards levels last seen in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Separate figures from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed that vacancies had contracted at the second-fastest pace in nearly five years last month and wage growth slowed to a four-year low.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We want to ensure people receive the highest quality palliative and end-of-life care, whether at home or in a community setting. We recognise the pressures hospices are facing and have provided an additional £5 million through the Scottish Budget to help address cost challenges.
“The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health has met with the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group and Hospice UK to discuss sustainable planning and commissioning for the sector. We will continue working with chief officers and independent hospices to support long-term solutions.”
