Key Summary
- Under a new model launching June 1, Macmillan will focus its welfare and financial advice on LGBTQ+ people, ethnic minorities, those with pre-existing health conditions, and individuals with caring responsibilities.
- The shift follows significant financial strain; in 2024, the charity cut 25% of its staff and scrapped its £17m hardship fund as costs for welfare advice exceeded £20 million.
- The strategy is based on NHS patient experience data showing that Black, Asian, Mixed-race, and LGBTQ+ patients consistently report lower-than-average care experiences and support levels.
Macmillan Cancer Support is set to prioritise access to its welfare advice for gay, transgender, and ethnic minority cancer patients, as well as those with existing health problems.
Under a new model designed to improve cost-efficiency, the charity’s benefits advisers will target ongoing financial and wellbeing support at groups deemed most vulnerable. This includes LGBTQ+ individuals and those who were already unwell before their cancer diagnosis. Staff will also be asked to prioritise those with significant caring responsibilities.
The new approach, scheduled for rollout on June 1, comes after the charity admitted its previous model was "unaffordable." Delivered through 120 local organisations, including Citizens Advice branches, the service supported over 100,000 patients in 2024.
However, with demand outstripping provision and costs rising above £20 million, the charity underwent a major restructure, cutting a quarter of its staff and considering the total withdrawal of the welfare service before a public backlash.
To determine who should receive priority, Macmillan reviewed NHS cancer patient experience data. They found that patients who self-reported as Black, Asian, or Mixed, and those whose gender identity differs from their sex registered at birth, reported significantly poorer care experiences.
Kate Seymour, the charity’s head of advocacy, said NHS data suggested that “many people with cancer are reporting poorer experiences across several areas of care, particularly some people who face the highest risk of health inequalities, such as those with mixed or multiple ethnicities, and those from the LGBTQ+ community.”
She added that “people with cancer in England who are Black, LGBTQ+, autistic or have other long-term health conditions or a learning disability, are all significantly less likely to get the support they need with their health and wellbeing while receiving hospital treatment.”
Steven McIntosh, the charity’s chief partnerships officer, said that Macmillan’s new service would “offer local financial and wellbeing support to people living with cancer in every part of the UK.”
He added that the new service was “designed to keep up with rising demand” and ensure everyone would get the “support they need.”
