Minister says she understands pressures facing healthcare after NIC rise

Health minister Karin Smyth has said she understands “the real pressures” facing the healthcare sector as a result of the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions and this has been taken into account when allocating funding.

Calls have been made for GPs, dentists, hospices and pharmacies to be exempt from the increase which was announced in the Chancellor’s Budget last month.

The British Medical Association’s GP committee said the “cruel” rise will force family doctors to make cuts “impacting upon patient care”, while the National Pharmacy Association said it has “tipped even more pharmacies to the brink”.

The Chancellor took into account the impact of changes to national insurance when she allocated an extra £26 billion to the Department of Health and Social Care

During an urgent question on the issue, the Liberal Democrats branded the increase a “GP penalty” and the Tories urged the Government to “admit they got it wrong and make a change”.

The minister told the Commons: “(The urgent question) gives me the opportunity to say to GPs, dentists, hospices and every part of the health and care system that will be affected by changes to employers’ national insurance contributions that this Government understands the pressures they face and takes their representation seriously.

“The Chancellor took into account the impact of changes to national insurance when she allocated an extra £26 billion to the Department of Health and Social Care.

“There are well-established processes for agreeing funding allocations across the system, we are going through those processes now with this issue in mind.”

Labour MP Rachael Maskell (York Central) said the healthcare sector is “really concerned about the increased cost pressures which are being placed on those services”.

She added: “Will she ensure that there is sufficiency within the trickle down approach that the department will have to now apply to hold up the current level of service, but also to see that transition which is urgently needed across health services?”

Ms Smyth said: “The pressures are very real. We understand those pressures. That is why we have committed to supporting the NHS and social care system with that additional funding.”

Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh said: “I beg the minister to reconsider and exempt hospices and care homes from this.”

Ms Smyth replied: “We will pursue the conversations with all affected providers in the normal way.”

Shadow minister Dr Luke Evans, a former GP, said: “Many in the health sector would have been pleased to hear the announcement of the extra funding going into the NHS, only for the joy to be struck down by the realisation of a broken manifesto promise not to raise national insurance contributions.

“This was only compounded further on the discovery that a raft of frontline care providers – care homes, hospices, care charities, pharmacies, GPs, to name but a few – found themselves not exempt from the NI rises, leaving them with crippling staff bills and the threat of closure and redundancies.

“The hospice sector expects the cost to be £30 million pounds, closure and redundancies. For GPs, the initial assessment could be £260 million, closure redundancies and the cost of 2.2 million appointments.

“And for the care sector, the changes alone will cost £2.4 billion, dwarfing the £600 million announced by social care support. So does she accept that council tax will inevitably have to rise to support the increase?”

Dr Evans added that the “sense of anger amongst pharmacy owners has been intensified exponentially by the Budget”, as he urged the Government to “admit they got it wrong and make a change”.

Will she protect services and press the Chancellor to end this GP penalty?

The minister said she was “dumbfounded” by Dr Evans’ comments, adding: “He talks about joy. There was no joy when we inherited the mess that they left back in July.”

She added: “We will go through the allocation of the additional funding in the normal process, which will be faster than it was under his government, because we are committed to giving the sector much more certainty.”

In response to a written question from Tory former minister Dr Caroline Johnson, defence minister Al Carns confirmed that the cost to the Ministry of Defence will be £216 million.

On Thursday, Liberal Democrat spokesperson Alison Bennett said: “Does the minister agree with me that stronger primary care with faster appointments and fewer people having to go to hospital is better for the NHS and for patients, and if so, will she protect services and press the Chancellor to end this GP penalty?”

Ms Smyth replied: “We will be talking with the general practices as part of the contract reforms, over the next few months, in the normal process about the allocations for next year.”

Conservative backbencher Sir Roger Gale (Herne Bay and Sandwich) said GPs and hospices need answers now on extra funding to help them deal with the rise for employers.

He said: “Dr Aleksandra Fox at the Ash Surgery in my constituency is one of a number of GPs who pointed out to me the deleterious effects of an ill-thought-through Budget.

“Add to that, charities like Shooting Star Children’s Hospice and the Demelza House Children’s Hospice, who are facing problems now.

“They can’t wait for discussions through the normal channels while this cockup is put right. When is something going to be done about it, please?”

Ms Smyth replied: “He says it’s an ill-thought-through Budget, I don’t know whether he agrees or disagrees with the extra funding that this Government has secured to give to the NHS after the disaster of the last 14 years.”