1 week Ago By Katie Harris
More than two million GP appointments could be at risk due to Labour's national insurance raid, according to new analysis. Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her Budget to hike the rate of national insurance for employers from 13.8% to 15%.
She also lowered the salary threshold at which employers start paying the tax from £9,100 to £5,000. Analysis by the Liberal Democrats found that the increased cost for GP surgeries is the equivalent to providing 2.24 million appointments a year.
The party's health and social care spokesperson Helen Morgan said: “Clobbering GP practices with higher taxes makes no sense at a time when many people are already struggling to get an appointment. “Surgeries are already struggling and these increased costs will leave GPs with no choice but to cut services and staff numbers. Ultimately it is patients around the country who will pay the price.
“The Chancellor needs to urgently rethink these proposals and exempt GPs from this misguided tax hike." The Institute of General Practice Management has estimated that the rise in employers' national insurance will mean the average GP surgery’s tax bill will go up by around £20,000 a year. This could cost £125.
5 million a year for all 6,275 GP practices in England. It is the equivalent of 2.24 million GP appointments at £56 per appointment, according to the analysis.
The main tax rise in Ms Reeves' fiscal statement last month was a change to employers' national insurance contributions which is expected to raise more than £25billion for the Treasury. But there have been concerns about the impact of the measure on GP surgeries. The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) earlier this month contacted Health Secretary Wes Streeting seeking "urgent assurances" that practices would be exempted.
A government spokesperson said: “We have taken tough decisions to fix the foundations so a £22 billion boost for the NHS and social care could be announced at the Budget. "The employer national insurance rise doesn’t kick in until April, and we will set out further details on allocation of funding for next year in due course. “We will also hire an extra 1,000 GPs into the NHS by the end of this year, having already announced a contract uplift for GPs and practice staff, and we will ensure practices have the resources they need to offer patients the highest quality care.
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