PM hikes National Insurance and dividends tax by 1.25 per cent to pay for NHS and social care reform September 7, 2021 Britons will be hit with £12bn-a-year tax rises to pay for increases in NHS and social care spending, with National Insurance and dividends tax in Boris Johnson’s crosshairs. A new Health and Social Care Levy will effectively hike National Insurance Contributions for employees and employers by 1.25 per cent from April 2022, while taxes on [...]
Government breaches another manifesto pledge by denying full triple lock uplift September 7, 2021 The government has breached another manifesto pledge and scrapped the normal functioning of the state pension triple lock, it announced today. In a statement delivered to the House of Commons today, secretary of state for work and pensions Thérèse Coffey announced the government will employ a triple lock lite, denying millions of pensioners an uplift [...]
Exclusive: National Insurance hiked by 135 per cent in 20 years, much faster than any other tax September 7, 2021 The government announced a new Health and Social Care Levy earlier today, which will effectively hike National Insurance Contributions for employees and employers by 1.25 per cent from April 2022. So how often are NICs used to pay for government investments and additional public spending? City A.M. studied the last twenty years. Tax receipts from [...]
Number 10 says there are no plans for an ‘October Covid firebreak’ September 7, 2021 Number 10 has hosed down reports that the government is preparing for a potential Covid “firebreak” in October when cases are expected to rise. Boris Johnson’s official spokesman told journalists today that it is “not true the government is planning a lockdown or firebreak around the October half term”. The i newspaper reported yesterday that [...]
Johnson to defy Tory MPs and launch £10bn-a-year tax hike to fund social care and NHS September 7, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson will defy a revolt among Tory MPs and scathing criticism and plough on with a hike to national insurance to generate more than £10bn a year to tackle the swelling backlog of NHS work and fix the UK’s ailing social care system. Johnson will today announce an at least one percentage [...]
UK chip maker takeover by Chinese firm halted on ‘national security grounds’ September 7, 2021 The merger between UK-based chip maker Perpetuus Group China’s Taurus International has been halted by the business secretary on “national security grounds”. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Sunday issued a public interest intervention notice to intervene in the proposed acquisition. The Competition and Markets Authority is now set to form a report into the transaction [...]
Business groups decry NI hike ahead of social care plan announcement September 7, 2021 Boris Johnson will today outline his government’s plan for social care reform, with the widespread expectation he will announce an increase in National Insurance. It will come alongside plans to fix the Covid-related NHS backlog, which is thought to be at around five million people. It is expected that it will be paid for by [...]
Sajid Javid confirms £5.4bn extra NHS England funding for winter September 6, 2021 Sajid Javid has today announced NHS England will receive an extra £5.4bn in funding over winter in a bid to clear the Covid-related hospital backlog. The health secretary announced that £1bn will go directly on easing the waiting list, £2.8bn will be used to cover related costs such as enhanced infection control measures and £478 [...]
Dominic Raab’s House of Commons aide raises concerns about vaccine passports September 6, 2021 Dominic Raab’s parliamentary assistant has today raised concerns over the government’s plan to introduce mandatory vaccine passports for large events. Tory MP Joy Morrissey, the parliamentary private secretary for the Foreign Office, has broken with the government’s stance and tweeted she was “very concerned at the idea of vaccine passports generally, but in particular the [...]
Afghan refugees to get permanent UK residency visas September 6, 2021 Afghan refugees will be given permanent residency visas when arriving in the UK, Boris Johnson has announced today. Johnson told the House of Commons today that the 20,000 refugees who will come to the UK via the Afghanistan settlement scheme will be given “indefinite leave to remain”. Five thousand refugees will be handed visas this [...]