内容摘要：It comes as hospices have warned that the sector is facing a financial crisis, although the government has pledged support.

It comes as hospices have warned that the sector is facing a financial crisis, although the government has pledged support.

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Five hospices caring for terminally ill people have planned job cuts in the past two months due to financial pressures, BBC News has learned.St Giles Hospice, which runs community services and in-patient sites in the West Midlands, has started consulting staff this week on a reduction of 40 posts, including clinical roles, which could involve redundancies.The organisation representing the sector, Hospice UK, has warned of a funding crisis and further cuts in services.

It says government must provide urgent cash investment.The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged there were challenges that would "take time to fix".

A combination of factors, including energy bills, higher wage costs and limited NHS funding, is being blamed.

St Giles has an annual budget of £10m, with 350 staff, more than three-quarters of whom are in clinical positions.Officers from the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) - which is equipped to respond to serious incidents in jails - were sent to reports of a disturbance at Lowdham Grange prison on Tuesday.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said it was the "latest in a long line of violent incidents in our prisons" and was of such a nature that it demanded a response from the NTRG.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said no prisoners or staff were injured at the jail in Nottinghamshire.

Lowdham Grange, a category B prison, operated privately until December 2023, when the government took over before making the move permanent in the summer of 2024.The POA has demanded an urgent meeting with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood to discuss how those on the front line are protected, said Geoff Willetts, from the POA national executive committee.