New health and social care Levy to be introduced across the UK to provide extra cash to reform the Health and Social care systems in England.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last Tuesday that the proposed increases in National Insurance Contributions and dividend tax would raise £36bn for frontline services in the next three years and be the “biggest catch-up programme in the history of the NHS”. He accepted the tax and NIC increases broke a manifesto pledge, but said the global pandemic was in no one’s manifesto.

The Prime Minister is thus standing by his statement on entering Downing Street that the Government would address the funding needs of the Social Care system and will adopt many of the measures originally proposed in the Dilnot Commission Report back in 2011.

The can has been metaphorically kicked down the road by previous Governments but the current Government plans to address the issue. Currently, anyone in England with assets over £23,250 must pay for their care in full resulting in many families having to sell the family home to pay care fees. The proposals announced by the Prime Minister will limit the amount that anyone in England will need to spend on their personal care in their lifetime to £86,000 from October 2023.

Also from October 2023, anyone with assets of less than £20,000 will not have to make any contribution for their care from their savings or the value of their home, ensuring those with the least are protected. Anyone with assets of between £20,000 and £100,000 will be eligible for some means-tested support, helping people without substantial assets.

Those above State Pension Age who are earning or self-employed will start paying NIC and the new Health and Social Care Levy from 2023/24.