Autumn Statement Response

"Marie Curie is relieved that benefits will rise in line with inflation. However, this is just treading water for the thousands of terminally ill people who are unable to make ends meet during their final months. Each year 90,000 people die in poverty in the UK and Marie Curie Nurses see first-hand the inadequate financial safety net for people at the end of life.

The Chancellor said that the best way to tackle poverty is through work. Simply put, many people who are dying are too unwell to work and will die before they are old enough to claim their State Pension. They needed more targeted support today. Particularly with energy bills. Any suggestion that people with a terminal illness would be forced back to work would be inhumane. The Government must confirm that, regardless of what reforms are introduced to Work Capability Assessments, all terminally ill people will be exempt from having to look for work."

Dr Sam Royston, Executive Director of Policy and Research, Marie Curie.