Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants to “level with people” that NHS waiting lists will get worse before they get better, a new tax will begin next April initially as a 1.25% increase in National Insurance.
From 2023, it will become a separate tax on earned income, with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak saying it will be legally ring-fenced for health and social care
According to the government, the funding will mostly be used to tackle NHS backlogs from the pandemic at first, but from October 2023 it will pay for new caps on individual contributions to social care.
Prime Minister Johnson said around half the money from the new levy will come from the top 14% of earners in the country.
‘We can build the modern, more efficient health and social care services the British public deserves.’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak gives his ‘three reasons’ in defence of raising taxes to pay for social care reform. pic.twitter.com/yyGI7b4ZSZ
— GB News (@GBNEWS) September 7, 2021
Chancellor Sunak claimed the new tax reflected that support for social care costs was “a permanent new role for government”.
According to Health Secretary Sajid Javid, the funding would allow the NHS to tackle a treatment backlog of 5.5 million people, carry out nine million checks, scans and treatments, and invest in a new generation of screening equipment.
PM Johnson said he did not want to raise taxes again in this Parliament, but said the decision was ultimately for the Chancellor in his Budgets.
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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