The bill would provide for a new tax dedicated to helping fund the Government’s plans for health and social care, with proceeds ringfenced for this purpose. The tax would be collected from April 2022. The House of Commons has passed the bill and there are limitations on the powers of the House of Lords to amend or reject the measure. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the bill at second reading and remaining stages on 11 October 2021.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill (329 KB , PDF)
On 11 October 2021, the House of Lords is due to consider the Health and Social Care Levy Bill at second reading and remaining stages.
The bill would provide for a new tax dedicated to helping fund the Government’s plans for health and social care, with proceeds ringfenced for this purpose. The new ‘health and social care levy’ would be based on a 1.25% increase in the main classes of national insurance contributions (NICs). The levy would be introduced in the 2023/24 tax year, after temporary transitional arrangements to increase NICs rates by the same amount in 2022/23 to allow for systems to be updated. The bill would give the Chancellor discretion to determine the share of proceeds from the levy allocated between health and social care and to each of the UK’s constituent nations. An increase in dividend tax rates, running alongside the levy and expected to raise additional funds for the plans, is set to be legislated for separately in the next Finance Bill.
The bill was introduced in the House of Commons as a supply bill, founded on a ways and means resolution debated and agreed on 8 September 2021. The Commons then considered the bill at second reading and remaining stages on 14 September 2021, before passing it without amendment.
The Government had set out its plans for health and social care in a command paper, entitled Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care, published a day earlier on 7 September. The Government intends to consult on some of the proposals in this document in October 2021, with a white paper on social care reform following later in the year.
The House of Lords may pass or reject supply bills, but the House of Commons deems amendments to such bills to be an “intolerable breach of privilege”. In addition, the Speaker of the House of Commons has certified the bill as a money bill. This means the bill can be presented for royal assent to become an act if the House of Lords does not pass it without amendment within a month.
The Government has justified fast tracking the legislation as follows:
The legislation is required to be in place for the 2022/23 tax year, which starts on 6 April 2022. The increase in national insurance rates for that year will require changes to be made to the systems of employers and HMRC (including those designed to facilitate pay as you earn [PAYE]). To help ensure that people are not over or under taxed it is important for both those employers and HMRC to have as much time as possible to implement the changes. This is particularly important given all employers in the UK liable for NICs will be affected.
Health and Social Care Levy Bill (329 KB , PDF)
In the autumn budget the chancellor announced changes to inheritance tax reliefs. From April 2026, taxes would apply to agricultural assets over £1mn (or up to £3mn in certain circumstances). The government has said this would just affect the wealthiest landowners and disincentivise buying agricultural land to avoid tax. Farming groups have argued the policy is a threat to the future of family farming and the UK's food security.
The government recently announced an independent review of physician and anaesthesia associates to be led by Professor Gillian Leng. This announcement followed a debate about the use of the roles in the NHS and concerns raised by some stakeholders about patient safety. The review has been widely welcomed by stakeholders as a way to move the debate forward.
Fracture liaison services proactively identify people at risk of fractures caused by osteoporosis. Patients can then be assessed and treated to prevent future fractures. The provision of fracture liaison services in England has been called a ‘postcode lottery’ by the Royal Osteoporosis Society, and evidence shows variation in quality and reach. The government has committed to 100% coverage by 2030.
