MP’s vote against proposals to exempt social care providers
Today, Wednesday 19 March saw members of parliament debate and vote against the House of Lords national insurance amendments. The Lords had voted against government plans to apply enhanced employer NICs to social care.
This means that social care providers will be required to pay the additional Employer National Insurance increases from April.
SCA have been working with Surrey MPs over the past few months to raise the profile of the implications for social care providers of these rises, alongside a backdrop of increasing costs.
Said Nicola McLeish, CEO of Surrey Care Association: ‘It was disappointing to see that in Prime Minister’s Question Time the Prime Minister and later in the specific debate on the House of Lords amendment proposals, James Murray, Exchequer Secretary to The Treasury rejected the Lords vote in their responses when challenged.
Ed Davy questions the Prime Minister
Questioned by Ed Davey, Leader of Liberal Democrats amongst a few, the Prime Minister said: ‘Because of the changes we have made at that [previous October 2024 budget] we have put record amounts into the NHS.
We have already invested an additional £3.7Bn into social care including £880M into the social care grant, so we are already taking steps. But the basic point remains we can’t make the investment into the NHS unless we raise the money.’
James Murray also commented in the House of Commons hour long debate afterwards: ‘…in order to restore fiscal responsibility and get public services back on its feet we needed to raise revenue including through the revenue this Bill seeks to raise. To support these amendments is to support higher borrowing and lower spending…I respectfully propose that this house disagree with these amendments.’
Providers Unite, who had recently organised an event at Parliament Square calling for social care to be exempt from NICs where over 3,500 took part from across the country said:
“Today, we bear witness to a devastating blow that seals the fate of thousands of care providers across our nation. In a callous act of indifference, the government has dismantled the core principles and ethos of the Care Act 2014, abandoning millions who depend on vital support. This is indeed a dark day for community care not only a ruthless assault on those we protect and employ, but on the very fabric of our democracy.”
There were 316 votes taken to reject the House of Lords amendments to 189 votes supporting the Lords amendment.
For Surrey Care Association, however, our work in raising the profile of adult social care and how services can be protected for those who most need it will not stop.
We are committed to highlighting the essential work that Surrey social care providers deliver to support vulnerable people. We will also continue to call for recognition of the pressure this will put on member services to national and regional bodies
We will continue to keep members updated on this issue.
Media coverage
- Sector responds to controversial passing of the National Insurance Contributions Bill – Care Home Professional
- MPs overturn exemption for care providers from national insurance contributions rise – Community Care
- PM faces calls to exempt hospices from tax rises BBC News
- You can find a summary of PMQ’s and questions relating to NI charges here – BBC