THE chief of a city children's hospice has welcomed news that a government grant could be announced before Christmas.

The health secretary said he would change the government's grant to "make sure we're protecting our hospices."

Acorns Children Hospice, which has a base in Bath Road,  is one of many hospices that relies on the grant worth £2 million every year to help with running costs.

Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4's Today: "One of the reasons that I haven't yet announced the allocation for hospices is I'm looking very carefully at what we can do through the hospice grant to recognise that pressure.

"We'll make an announcement on the hospice grant before Christmas because I recognise that people need to be able to make decisions about the next financial year, but the hospice grant will continue."

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Trevor Johnson, chief executive at Acorns Children's Hospice, said: “We welcome today’s comments from Wes Streeting in interviews for the BBC, stating that financial support for the hospice sector would be announced before Christmas.

“The ongoing uncertainty around the Children’s Hospice Grant and the future of the services that so many children and families need, has been a source of great concern for the sector.

"We look forward to hearing from the Government in more detail what this financial support for children’s hospices looks like."

In October, Liz Bishop travelled from Worcestershire to Westminster to help with the Save the Grant campaign after her late daughter Lily-Mai received care from Acorns while fighting a brain tumour.

Mr Johnson added: “We will continue pushing our Children’s Care Matters campaign and engage with MPs on the issue.

"We encourage everyone to keep supporting the campaign - as you have done brilliantly so far - whether it’s by signing our petition or writing to your local MP.

“Together we will hold the Government to their promises, so local families can receive the care they desperately need, now and long into the future.”

Acorns Children's Hospice offers specialist palliative care for babies and young people under 18.