BORIS Johnson and Rishi Sunak are reportedly close to signing off on a decision to increase national insurance – despite the Tories promising not to raise taxes.
Speaking at a briefing last night, the Prime Minister did not rule out raising taxes to pay for his social care plan – which was promised two years ago.
The Prime Minister sidestepped the question but said the problem of social care had “bedevilled governments for at least three decades”.
“All I can say is we’ve waited three decades, you’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer,” he told reporters.
“I’m sorry about that but it won’t be too long now, I assure you.”
While some tax is devolved, the UK Government sets the rate of national insurance contributions across the four nations.
According to The Sun, Johnson and the Chancellor are “almost there” on a decision to increase national insurance by at least 1% – but failed to come to the agreement before they were forced into self-isolation by a close contact testing positive for Covid-19.
As the reports emerged, a clip of Health Secretary and former chancellor Sajid Javid promising there would be no increase to income tax, national insurance or VAT under a Tory majority government resurfaced from the 2019 General Election campaign.
Jeremy Hunt, who faced off against Johnson in 2019 for the role of Conservative leader, has backed an increase to income tax to fund a social care plan, suggested a rise of 1% could generate £60 billion to tackle problems.
The former health secretary said there is a “growing realisation” that the NHS cannot recover from the pandemic without social care reform.
“The attraction of a health and social care levy is it would fund the NHS backlog in the short term and desperately needed improvements in the social care system in the medium-longer term,” he wrote online.
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“It would also be transparent about the need for resources and capacity in both sectors.
“A health and care premium is the most honest solution, with a sensible debate on whether we’ll fund the new dementia drugs on the way, make our cancer survival rates as good as Denmark/Australia – and proper social care – and how much that’s about funding [versus] innovation/efficiency.”
One source close to the Government’s discussions said increasing national insurance payments is “definitely on the table, but it does target those hit hardest by the pandemic”.
Downing Street today also declined to deny suggestions that a National Insurance rise could form a central part of Johnson’s proposals.
“There’s continued speculation but I’m simply not going to be engaged with that speculation,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said in the first in-person briefing for Westminster journalists since before the first lockdown.
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