Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Employer National Insurance Contributions: Social Care

Tuesday 7 January 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Charlie Dewhirst asked about the impact of increased employer national insurance contributions on social care provision, citing Age UK's estimate of unmet care needs.
  • The Minister responded that while the Conservatives welcome additional investment, they oppose the revenue-raising methods chosen and need to specify alternative service cuts or tax raises.
  • Helen Morgan inquired about Coverage Care's expected financial impact of 840,000 in the first full year due to the national insurance contributions increase.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Charlie Dewhirst Con Bridlington and The Wolds
Social Care Taxation
Context

Charlie Dewhirst raised concerns about the timing of an increase in employer national insurance contributions amid existing challenges in the provision of social care. Age UK estimates that 2 million people aged 65 and over already have unmet care and support needs.

Question

The increase in employer national insurance contributions comes at a time when we simply cannot afford to lose any more provision from care providers. Given Age UK's estimate that 2 million people aged 65 and over already have unmet care and support needs, what assessment has the Minister made of the potential increase in unmet care needs as a result of the increase to employer national insurance contributions?

Answer from The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)

There is a pattern here. The Conservatives welcome the additional investment in health and care but oppose the choices that we have made to raise the revenue. They need to tell us which services they would cut or which taxes they would raise instead.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The impact of national insurance contributions on unmet care needs was not addressed specifically.

How: Opposing Party'S Stance, Raising Hypothetical Alternatives

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Q2 Helen Morgan Lib Dem North Shropshire
Social Care Taxation
Context

Coverage Care, a not-for-profit adult social care provider in North Shropshire, has warned that the impact of the increase in national insurance contributions will be £840,000 in the first full year of implementation. There are also huge numbers of vacancies across adult social care.

Question

Coverage Care, a not-for-profit adult social care provider in North Shropshire that operates 11 care homes and employs around 1,000 local staff, has been in touch to say that it expects the impact of the increase in national insurance contributions to be £840,000 in the first full year of implementation. Given that there are huge numbers of vacancies across adult social care in North Shropshire, will the Secretary of State consider exempting social care providers from the national insurance increase? Otherwise we are putting money into social care with one hand and taking it away with the other.

Answer from The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)

I refer the hon. Lady to my previous answer on the very substantial funding that we are providing to local authorities, which of course are key to the adult social care system. However, funding must always be married with reform. We have brought forward a packed programme of reform—from data sharing and empowering care workers to take on basic healthcare to promoting better use of care technologies—and in the spirit of cross-party collaboration that we believe is absolutely vital and urgent in this area, I gently encourage her to see those reforms as the first step towards rebuilding our care service and making it fit for the future.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question about exempting social care providers from national insurance was not directly answered.

How: Reference To Previous Answer, Focusing On Reforms Instead Of Exemptions

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