Health and Social Care levy comes into effect today

Today the new Health and Social Care Levy comes into effect, helping raise billions of pounds to tackle Covid-19 backlogs and reform the adult social care system – ending the cruel lottery of unpredictable care costs and supporting our NHS to build back better from the pandemic. 

  • The pandemic put unprecedented pressure on the NHS and has led to significant backlogs and waiting times, so we must find a sustainable solution that supports our NHS in immediately delivering for patients. 
  • That is why the government is introducing the Health and Social Care Levy – raising £36 billion to cut Covid-19 backlogs and ensuring that everyone gets the care they deserve without having to sell their homes in their lifetime – and because of our increase to the NIC threshold, around 70 per cent of all workers will have their taxes cut, while the highest 14 per cent of earners will pay around half the revenue of the levy.
  • This measure, which will go hand in hand with major NHS reforms, will provide dedicated funding that ends the cruel lottery of spiraling and unpredictable care costs once and for all, and allow our NHS to deliver millions more scans, checks, and operations.
  • There is never a good time to raise more money and of course, people will be concerned about the combined impact of this levy with the huge rise in energy and food bills which all of us are experiencing. But if we are to help the NHS clear the backlogs which have been left by the pandemic and sort out the enormous needs of Britain's social care system, the nettle needs to be grasped.

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