An increase in National Insurance contributions is set to come into effect from April this year. Under the plans, employers, employees and the self employed will all pay 1.25p more in the pound. From April 2023 the extra tax will be collected as a new Health & Social Care levy and the National Insurance contributions will revert to their existing levels.
The revenue from the levy will be "hypothecated in law to health and social care" meaning that the estimated £12bn a year raised by the level can only be used to fund increases in health and social care.
Whilst good news for the NHS in England, the amount raised by the levy does somewhat pale in comparison to the total spending on health and social care in England which currently stands at a massive £235bn each year.
No-one welcomes taxation increases but hopefully one good thing to come from the pandemic is a renewed appreciation for the NHS and an acceptance that everyone must contribute more in order to ensure the future of our health service.