Budget plan to hike employer NI contributions could cost Scottish NHS 2,000 nurses, Labour warned

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Chancellor's plan to hike employer National Insurance contributions could cost the NHS in Scotland 2,000 nurses, the Scottish Government has warned.

Rachel Reeves is expected to announce the move – to raise an extra £20billion – in her Budget on Wednesday.But SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison is demanding Labour fully offsets the extra cost to public sector employers in Scotland, where the NHS could be left with an extra £140million annual bill.She told the Sunday Mail: “After 14 years of austerity, we want to see a UK Budget that looks to the future and invests for growth and prosperity.

One change reported in the media is a possible increase in employers’ NI contributions.“While the Chancellor seems to favour this move to help put public finances on a sustainable footing, there is a real risk that it could have the opposite effect in Scotland.“The NHS in Scotland alone would face an estimated additional cost of £140million from a two percentage point increase in the employer contribution rate.

That would be equivalent to well over 2000 qualified nurses.“Unless the cost of increased NI contributions for public sector workers is fully funded – to cover every extra penny of tax for every public sector employee – the cash for this would have to come from existing budgets.