Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster has reacted to today’s (Tuesday 7th September 2021) statement by the Prime Minister on Social Care Funding.
The Government will invest a record £12 billion a year into the NHS and social care by way of a new, UK-wide 1.25 per cent ringfenced Health and Social Care Levy based on National Insurance Contributions (NICs),and an equivalent increase in dividend tax rates.
This £12 billion average annual investment over the next three years means we will:
o invest the largest amount of any Government to upskill the social care workforce
o strengthen the adult social care system
o tackle the elective backlog in the NHS as it recovers from coronavirus
o fund nurses a 3 per cent pay rise as the independent Pay Review Body recommended
o build resilience for future pandemics
o ensure the NHS has the resources it needs throughout this Parliament
o finally implement a Dilnot solution to cap adult social care costs
The new 1.25 per cent dedicated Health and Social Care Levy, based on NICs will be paid by
employers, employees and the self-employed – including those working over the state pension age who do not pay NICs. To help ensure everyone pays their fair share, the government is also announcing an equivalent increase in dividend tax rates.
A Levy based on NICs is the best way to raise the funds needed across the UK – with those earning
more paying more and larger businesses also contributing. A typical basic rate taxpayer will pay £180
(£3.46/week), but the top 14 per cent of taxpayers will pay around half the revenue raised, and most small
businesses won’t be affected at all (40 per cent of all businesses).
Commenting Kevin said: “The last 18 months has shown the urgent need for a solution to the long-standing issues with Social Care Funding.”
“Some in our bay face losing everything they have worked and saved for, including their home, simply because they are affected by health conditions such as dementia in later life. Similarly, we must tackle the low pay which is all too common in the care sector and ensure hard working care workers receive the type of rewarding packages they deserve, and which are common in other sectors.”
“No-one likes to pay more, but we must face the reality of the situation we find ourselves in post the pandemic where our NHS and social care systems have faced their most challenging period since the foundation of them back in 1948. The Prime Minister was right to level with the nation and set out his solution to a challenge which has been growing for decades. He deserves our support in doing so.”
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