00:00The Scottish Government announced in July ÂŁ5 million to help with the
00:05recruitment and retention of skilled staff and sustainable services for the
00:08hospice sector. Scottish ministers have still not released this funding, however
00:12we have seen the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership decide to
00:15reverse the 3% inflationary uplift to funding for hospices here in the
00:20capital. St Columbus Hospice Care and Marie Curie, Edinburgh are warning that
00:24essential palliative end-of-life services are now at serious risk due to this
00:28funding decision. Does the First Minister agree with me that it is totally
00:32unacceptable for our hospices to have funding given with one hand and then
00:36taken away with the other? Will he ask the partnership to reverse this decision and
00:41will the First Minister now investigate why Scottish Government funding for our
00:44hospice sector has not been delivered? First Minister. I'll look into that point
00:51about timing, about the delivery, because if the commitment has been made then the
00:55delivery should be put in place but I don't have that answer at the front of
00:58my mind just now. But I'll take that away and explore it. St Columbus Hospice is
01:02particularly precious to me. My dear beloved late mother was a volunteer there
01:06for many years. It's an institution close to my heart so I'll take that away and
01:10find out what the situation is. In relation to the giving with the one hand and the
01:15taking away with the other, I don't approve of that. I think we shouldn't, if the
01:18Government gives a commitment which was merited for the hospice sector and it was
01:22necessary for the hospice sector, that shouldn't be used as an excuse
01:26by other organisations to take away their funding at local level. That's just,
01:30that's just not, it's just not on really. So let me take away this issue. I'm very
01:36sympathetic to the point that Mr Briggs makes to me and I'll try to establish
01:40what the situation is.
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