Budget 2016: Libor cash handed to children's hospitals
Fines from the Libor financial scandal will help support children's hospital services, the Chancellor has announced
In his budget speech, George Osborne said hospitals in Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and Southampton would receive more than £5m. The funding will support projects including a new emergency department and a refurbished new eye unit. Banks were fined billions of pounds for manipulating the foreign exchange market. Libor stands for the London Interbank Offered Rate. It is the interbank lending rate that benchmarks interest rates across the UK. The Libor scandal arose when it was discovered that banks were falsely inflating or deflating their rates so as to profit from trades. Mr Osborne announced a planned new £4.8m Paediatric Emergency and Trauma Department at Southampton General will gain more than £2m in match funding. Fiona Dalton, chief executive of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said she was "absolutely delighted" at the announcement. "We have seen an amazing display of teamwork from so many people to get us to this point and we now look forward to working with our partners to begin planning a fundraising campaign to meet the remainder of the costs." Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is set to receive £1.1m and £700,000 has been earmarked for Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity. The funds will go towards a dedicated helicopter landing pad in central Manchester and a fully digitally intraoperative 3T MRI scanner in Sheffield. Birmingham Children's Hospital received £700,000 towards its Eye Believe appeal to transform the eye department, and also support the Star Appeal, to create the UK's first centre for children with rare diseases and undiagnosed medical conditions.