Julia Lopez and fellow Conservative MPs have co-signed a letter to the Chancellor raising concerns about the impact of her Employer National Insurance rise on GP services, dentists, hospices and care homes.
In her tax-raising autumn Budget, the new Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves imposed huge Employer National Insurance rises on businesses and organisations across the country, including in the Hornchurch & Upminster constituency.
Throughout the election campaign, the Labour Party promised not to raise taxes on working people. However, the rise in Employer National Insurance Contributions will amount to a “jobs tax” and hurt working people, especially those on lower pay.
While the Government has announced that public sector organisations will be exempt from the rise, many organisations who play a key part in the NHS will not be exempt.
Those who will be hit by the increase include, general practices, dental practices, hospices and care homes.
The rise will increase financial pressure on those key services, potentially leading to reduced or poorer quality services for residents in the constituency.
Commenting, Mrs Lopez said:
“I’m incredibly concerned about the impact that these hikes will have on organisations across the Hornchurch & Upminster constituency. Last week I warned that this would lead to job losses, higher prices and closures and I worry this may become a reality.
“I know from my discussions with the likes of St. Francis Hospice about the huge financial pressures they’ve come under in recent years, with most of their funding coming from donations. They’ve been clear that the current funding model is now unsustainable and needs to change if they’re to continue meeting demand.
“I’m worried that this rise will pile on more financial pressure for organisations like St. Francis and could impact the level of services on offer.
“I’ve also had conversations with two local GP surgeries in the constituency who have told me that the rise will hit both their practices and others across the country hard – leading to many handing back their NHS contracts overnight.
“The measures have the potential to immediately undermine the cash that the Government is looking to give to the NHS by making problems in primary and social care worse!”
