Alison Bennett

In Mid Sussex we do not have many large employers, so small and medium-sized enterprises truly are the backbone of our economy. When watching the Budget statement, Bob from Hurstpierpoint, who is involved in multiple small Mid Sussex businesses, told me: “the big loser was small business.” Bob is already having to make contingency plans and think seriously about his workforce going forward. He is right to say that “without thriving small businesses and SMEs the ability of local communities to thrive is inhibited”. That is true in Mid Sussex and in communities up and down the country. Another constituent of mine, Ian, who has invested considerably in a local business and employs a number of local people, says that he feels “abandoned”. The catastrophic impacts of the decision will be not just on employers but on employees—none more than those in Mid Sussex GP and care businesses who have written to me since the Budget. Niki, from Hassocks, a director in a social care organisation supporting adults with learning disabilities, raised two points. First, the national insurance changes will have a disastrous impact on the sector, with social care providers already struggling. Hit in recent years by covid, interest rate hikes, rises in the national living wage and the cost of living crisis, many are teetering on the brink. Secondly, social care providers will feel the Government’s measures acutely and disproportionately. They are people businesses, so almost their entire cost base is hit by the national insurance increase. They employ many people on low wages, so shifting the national insurance threshold to £5,000 has a huge impact. Katie, a Lindfield GP, said that the changes would directly undermine patient access and patient care. “In our area,” she said, “there are dwindling partner numbers, old estates, difficulties recruiting staff. We partners aren’t sure how long we can keep providing increasing healthcare for.” My constituent Tom, a GP partner, told me that because practices do not charge patients, they do not have the option to put up their prices as a business might. He is trying to digest how he feels about partners’ bearing the brunt of these changes. GPs have told me that they are not entitled to claim employment allowance, and we need clarity on that essential point. This is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for GPs and care providers to be exempt from national insurance rises. When those who employ us, care for us and choose to base their businesses in Mid Sussex feel “insulted, “abandoned” and “unsupported”, 1 fail to see how this decision is the right one.