If he will take steps to ensure that children's hospices receive the same level of funding as adult hospices in future allocations. [156294]

What new resources are to be provided for existing children's hospices. [156295]

Children's hospices have the same access to health service funding as adult hospices. We are increasing funding for the provision of palliative care services and expect children's hospices to benefit thereby. In addition, funding will be available later this year from the new opportunities fund, specifically for services in support of children with life-threatening illnesses, including those provided by children's hospices.

It is an interesting answer. My hon. Friend may be aware of the excellent work done by Derian house in my Constituency, which treats children not only from the north-west but from other regions. It is a very specialist children's hospice. Is she aware that children's hospices are the poor relations when it comes to funding, and that they received only £25,000, which is not acceptable? I put down a challenge to my hon. Friend: please will she personally look into the funding of children's hospices and ensure that there is a big improvement in what they receive? I know that we could work together for the benefit of children's hospices.

Not only am I happy to take up that challenge but I have in front of me details of Derian house, and I am aware of the good work that it does. We have to ensure that children's hospice provision is developed in a strategic way, and that is why we have set up a regional group. I urge my hon. Friend to encourage the hospice in his Constituency to take part in that review. We have also made new funds available. The new opportunities funding that was announced recently by the Department for Culture. Media and Sport will make available about £300 million to spend on health initiatives. We envisage that about £48 million will be available over the next three years to provide palliative care for children with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses. I hope that he will encourage the hospice to be part of that process to ensure that strategic care is provided in his area.

I am sure that the Minister will want to join me in paying tribute to the Shropshire and Mid Wales adult hospice and the Hope House children's hospice, which serves my community. They, and the hospice movement in general, welcomed the announcement of additional funding made by the Secretary of State last October, but six months later they are still seeking clarity. Will my hon. Friend confirm that the new resources will meet the needs not only of new initiatives in children's hospice provision but of existing hospices? Will she also confirm that a contribution will be made towards core funding, as well as new initiatives at those hospices? The hospices have been waiting a long time for the clarity that they seek, and they need some assurance from my hon. Friend the Minister so that they can plan for the future.

Of course; that is why the directions laid down for the bidding for new opportunities funding will provide exactly what my hon. Friend asks for. I have looked at the provisions for Hope House hospice and I note that the secretary of its association is a member of the children's taskforce and is playing a key role in the Association of Children's Hospices. I know from a meeting today that the association is satisfied that the current arrangements will allow hospices to plan for the future in the best interests of the children who need and deserve that care.

Will the Minister ensure that some of the extra money will go towards paying for the complementary therapists who do so much in hospices such as the Loros in Leicestershire? Now that the Government have helpfully published the response to the Lords report on complementary medicine, will she pledge perhaps £100,000 towards research?

Will the Minister have a word with a counterpart of hers? If homeopathy is good enough for humans, is it not good enough for animals in the foot and mouth disease crisis? Will she have a word with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food?

I have long since stopped thinking of supplementary questions from the hon. Gentleman; I think of complementary questions. He is aware that homeopathy has played a significant role in palliative care. We shall continue to look at that and take it forward.

Is the Minister aware that, in Southend, where for many years we have had a wonderful hospice called Fair Havens and where, more recently, a children's hospice has opened, although we raise increasing sums every year to help the hospice, because the percentage of funding covered by public funds is being reduced, the burden is becoming greater every year? Does she not feel that there might be a case for a proper review by the Department of the percentage funding carried by the Government for both adult and children's hospices, because the percentage is genuinely going down and the burden on the community is continuing to increase?

I am aware that we need to increase the total amount of funding available for palliative care. That is why we made £50 million available for both adults and children. However, as I said earlier, children's hospices in particular have developed in a non-strategic way, so we need to ensure that each region has proper provision. Within that, children's hospices will bid for both health improvement money and new opportunities funding, so that we can strike the right balance between what is raised from the voluntary sector and what the NHS provides. That will vary from area to area.