Clive Jones

Paul and Melissa Johnson, the directors of Home Instead, are local business owners of an adult social care provider based near Twyford, in my constituency. They predict that the national insurance increase will be in the region of £45,000 a year on the basis of their current payroll, and that the increase in the minimum wage and other costs will add a further £55,000 a year. Some similar businesses may have to scale back their plans for growth or their existing operations, or may even face the prospect of closing down. Inevitably, that will have a significant impact on their elderly clients, along with the local authorities with which they work. Nationally, it is the same story, because the Government’s job tax will be the tipping point for thousands of care providers. This could have been avoided if the Government had instead chosen to increase taxes on big banks, online gambling companies and social media giants, all of which need to pay their fair share of tax. The Conservatives allowed those banks and social media giants to get off the hook; why are Labour doing the same? Let me ask the Minister this: will the Government commit themselves to exempting social care from the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, and if not, how will they protect those who are affected by the potential closures of social care providers? The concerns do not end there. I recently visited Twyford surgery and spoke to its fantastic GP partners about the impact that the increase will have on their ability to deliver primary care effectively. It is the same story that we hear all over the country: they are looking at, in effect, a 4% reduction in funding, which will have an impact on the services they are able to offer, including joint injections and contraception. The Chancellor will compensate the NHS for the cost of the tax increase, but that support will not be available to GPs or to the vast majority of care providers that are in the private sector, which will lead to even greater pressures on our health and care services. At a time when the GP-patient ratio for my area is rising, with 2,101 patients for every GP compared with England’s national average of 1,664, this is simply unacceptable—and it is happening at the worst possible time, because general practices are already in crisis. Patient lists are soaring, and we simply do not have enough GPs. The Government must provide assurances, as a matter of urgency, that general practices will be given the same protection as the rest of the NHS, and will receive the necessary funding to cover these additional costs. I am sure that millions of people across the country will agree that it is simply common sense to protect GPs at a time of crisis.