A plan developed by Box Power CIC to protect the sector from national insurance rises is getting the support of MPs and sector leaders.
A coalition of 60 cross-party MPs and care leaders led by Scottish entrepreneur Robert Kilgour, Mike Padgham, executive chairman of Saint Cecilia’s Care Group, and Tony Stein, chief executive officer of Healthcare Management Solutions, are backing a plan developed by not-for-profit energy consultancy Box Power CIC to protect the sector from planned national insurance (NI) rises.
The policy would see banks keep 1% of their money deposited with the Bank of England in accounts that don’t earn interest. This change could save the UK government about £1.3 billion a year in interest payments.
Box Power would see these savings ringfenced for the care sector, offsetting the costs of planned NI hikes set to come into effect this April.
“In light of the current funding crisis, we’re requesting the Chancellor Rachel Reeves adopt this policy to provide some immediate relief to the care sector. While NHS trusts have been protected from NI rises – their providers in social care and other facilities have been left to fend for themselves,” said Box Power CIC chief executive Corin Dalby.
Inspired by similar moves made by the European Central Bank, Box Power CIC claims that the policy would generate enough government savings to exempt the entire care sector from NI rises without raising taxes or introducing spending cuts.
Gaining traction
The policy move, increasingly gaining traction within the industry and at Westminster, comes as research from the Nuffield Trust indicates that planned NI increases could cost adult social care alone more than £900 million a year. This is a cost that few providers can afford without a reduction in their frontline services. The Care Provider Alliance has predicted that without additional support, one in five care providers could close this year.
“Hospices are being crippled by rising employment costs. This is a travesty, we need a long-term funding solution, but in the short term, this policy could provide the immediate relief we so desperately need,” said Mark Jarman-Howe, chief Executive of St Helena Hospice and a backer of Box Power.
The consultancy argues that the simplicity of Box Power’s policy to exempt care providers from planned NI increases means that it could be implemented tomorrow and that the chancellor would “not even” require a vote in the Commons.
Other care providers and leaders backing the plan include Abbey Healthcare, Active Care Group, Aldingbourne Trust, Bloom Care, Borough Care, Cedar Care Homes, Coverage Care Services, Elizabeth Finn Homes, Harbour Healthcare, Healthcare Management Solutionsm Independent Care Group, Lukka Homes, Maria Mallaband Care Group, Minster Care Group, Prime Life, Renaissance Care, Roseberry Healthcare, Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, Salutem Care and Education, St Martins Care, St Philips Care, Vida Healthcare, St Helena’s Hospice and Birmingham Hospice.
