Seamus Logan

I commend the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) for introducing the debate, and I pay tribute to the retiring interim chief executive of NHS Grampian, Adam Coldwells, an outstanding public servant who will be sadly missed when he departs his post. The revised departmental expenditure limit for the Department of Health and Social Care in England sees an overall increase in the estimates of around £10 billion, and I want to comment on how that affects Scotland generally and my constituency in particular. Lest we get giddy about the numbers, let us think about where that expenditure might be going: salaries and wages, price increases—particularly for fuel and food—and certainly more taxes. It is a new definition of the circular economy as I understand it. Let us also consider how the changes affect our partners in the enterprise of health and social care. GPs, hospices and charities are already facing huge financial pressures from rising energy costs, staff retention issues and labour shortages. Staff morale is already low and will be further impacted by funding cuts to the vital services they provide, as money is diverted to meet rising costs. Then along comes the increase in employer national insurance contributions for those partners. When we look across the border into England, we see additional GP contract funding of close to £1 billion, which will cushion much of those additional national insurance costs. Let me share a local example from Aberdeenshire council, on which I was an elected member for more than two years. The cost to the council of the additional NIC changes is about £11 million. The council’s estimated allocation from the Scottish Government to mitigate those additional costs is around £5.5 million. The difference is stark and cannot simply be written off as a Scottish Government responsibility. Indeed, as Wes Streeting constantly reminds us, all roads lead to Westminster when it comes to funding. Our joint enterprise partners, such as GPs and third sector organisations such as Marie Curie—I see Members are wearing a daffodil today—or Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, and local GP surgeries in places like Longhaven and Cruden Bay, are paying the price. Turning to hospices, the Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock, stated that there will be no additional Barnett consequentials—