The MP for Twickenham has criticised the Government’s new Health and Social Care Levy plans.
Speaking with South West Londoner, Munira Wilson called the plans a Tory tax on jobs, claiming it will hit hard-working families across the area hard, and disproportionately hurt younger low-paid workers.
This comes after the Prime Minister announced a package of £12bn a year in tax rises to pay for social care costs and ever-expanding NHS waiting lists worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boris Johnson used a statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday (7th September) to outline plans that include a 10% increase in national insurance contributions (NICs) for anyone earning from £9,564 to £50,270.
The Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson said: “Boris Johnson promised on the steps of Downing Street a little over two years ago that he had an “oven-ready” plan for social care. Yet, we saw no plan to solve the care worker crisis or to help unpaid carers.
“Local residents crippled by the catastrophic costs of care will only be helped if they need care after October 2023. In the meantime, there are 1.5 million people across the country not getting the care they need.”
The Treasury expects the changes to raise £36bn over three years, with most going towards dealing with waiting lists, and 15% of the total going towards alleviating the social care crisis.
The Class 1 rate – the type of NICs that most people pay – will rise from 12% to 13.25% of monthly income, meaning a person earning £20,000 a year currently paying £1,251.84, will pay £1,382.24 from April 1st 2022.
The Class 1 rate employers pay alongside will increase from 13.8% to 15% and from April 2023, the increases will become the new Health and Social Care Levy.
Further criticism came from think tank Resolution Foundation, who focus on economic issues faced by those on low and middle incomes.
Torsten Bell, chief executive at the Resolution Foundation, said to South West Londoner the levy was flawed and meant a significant increase for younger workers, but no contributions from some landlords and most pensioners.
He added: “The levy also increases the incentive for firms to use self-employed labour rather than employees, which is something the Chancellor has previously promised to tackle rather than exacerbate.”
He also pointed to the end of the furlough scheme and the drop in Universal Credit placing further pressure family incomes under pressure.
South West Londoner contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for comment but was directed to the statements and press conferences made by the Government on 7th and 8th September.
You can read more about the Health and Social Care Levy on the Government’s website.
Featured image credit: Office of Munira Wilson
