Marie Curie responds to the Budget
Comment published
Today the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered his budget to Parliament, which did not include any long term commitments to improve the benefits system for people living with terminal illness. In response to the Budget, the Head of Policy and Public Affairs for Marie Curie in England, Ruth Driscoll, said:
"More than 6,000 people have died waiting for financial support, since the Government first promised to review how terminally ill people access benefits. We know that this review is complete but we are still waiting for the review to be published – or changes made - nearly 20 months on.
"The UK Government has publicly recognised that the system needs to change. Today, in the Budget, it could have committed to funding and implementing these changes. Alas, this did not happen. Terminally ill people, and their loved ones, will be deeply disappointed by this missed opportunity after years of campaigning to address this urgent issue.
"By Easter, Marie Curie estimates that 300 more people will have died without the benefits they are entitled to. By the time of the Summer recess, this could rise to over 1,400 more deaths. We're glad that the Government has accepted the need for change but now it must publish the results of this review. Dying people do not have the luxury of time. They cannot wait any longer.
"The Chancellor has rightly given a lot of attention to securing an economic recovery after Covid. But with little change to financial or social support for people living with terminal illness, there is a great hole in the heart of the budget when it comes to delivering the same commitment to securing a social recovery after the pandemic, or one that provides the greatest support to those who have been hardest hit over the last year.
"Within the next 20 years, there will be more than 100,000 more people dying each year. How dying people are supported now and in the future must become an urgent priority for this Government. In addition to improving the benefits system for people with terminal illness, Marie Curie wants to see the Government go further to deliver sustainable funding solutions to health and social care funding and the hospice sector."