Government pledge to help save hospice millions

2:02pm Saturday 11th October 2008

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By Warwick Payne »

DEPUTY Labour leader, Harriet Harman, says the Government will do “everything it can” to rescue £5.7m placed by a Hampshire hospice in a collapsed bank.

The Naomi House charity invested around 37 per cent of its funds in the Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander bank.

The children’s hospice is now trying to retrieve the money, which has been caught in the Icelandic banking meltdown.

Mrs Harman was asked what the Government could do to help Naomi House when she visited Winchester last night.

She was on the panel of Any Questions, which was recorded at Henry Beaufort School in Harestock.

Winchester City Councillor Barry Lipscomb, who represents Sutton Scotney where the hospice is based, asked the Mrs Harman what could be done.

She said: “When we’re talking about valuable services, like the hospice we’ve just talked about, the Government will want to do everything it can to help them.”

She added that officials were heading to Iceland to see how much can be recovered from the banks, which the Treasury had previously regarded as safe.

While she said each charity would need to be judged on a case by case basis, she pledged that Westminster would “not leave them on their own”.

She added: “We will do everything we can to help the charities. It’s not their fault, and we want to do everything we can to ensure the people who rely on their services do not lose out.”

Naomi House has also welcomed Mrs Harman’s pledge that Westminster would try to help.

A spokesman for the charity said: “We were encouraged to hear Harriet Harman’s comments about the Government’s position regarding charity funds in the Icelandic banks.

“We will continue to press for reassurance that Naomi House deposits will be secured as soon as possible.”