London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Mar 15, 2026

‘Illogical’: frontline health and care staff react to funding plan

‘Illogical’: frontline health and care staff react to funding plan

Boris Johnson announced that £36bn raised by tax increase would go ‘straight to frontline’

Boris Johnson announced in parliament that £36bn raised by the new 1.25 percentage points tax rise would “go straight to the frontline” of health and social care. We asked some of them – doctors, care workers, managers and families of people in care homes – for their reaction.

The consultant


Dr Richard Breeze, an intensive care consultant in London, said that “superficially [the new funds] sound wonderful and one hopes it’s a genuine investment in the NHS”. But he said it was “illogical” to be raising the funds from relatively low-paid NHS staff, who would feel disincentivised as a result.

“The lifeblood of the NHS will be compromised,” he said. “Going into what looks like a third wave [of Covid] the staff are exhausted and the idea of putting their taxes up is robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

He said the threshold for paying the tax should be raised for health and social care staff to prevent the lowest paid from paying the levy.

“We are desperately short of nurses and anything that can be done to incentivise them would be priceless.”

Documents setting out details of spending showed £5.6bn extra would go to social care over three years, including some to cap lifetime care costs at £86,000. It is well short of the amounts estimated to be needed to keep up with demand.

The family member


Lesley Lightfoot – whose mother, Blumah Samuels, 90, sold her £260,000 flat to pay for £4,300-a-month care fees at the care home she has lived in for almost three years – said the lack of significant new investment in the care sector meant little change for families’ experience of lower-budget care homes.

“Families who have a property to sell will be in the same position and God help people who haven’t,” she said. “It is not going to make a difference. What needs to be addressed is the standard of care. [Care work] needs to be a proper job.”

She also said the statement lacked a “sense of urgency” with the £100,000 cap on care costs not introduced for another two years and only then for people starting care packages after October 2023.

“What is going to happen to the people still at home who need help right now?”

The care home manager


Donna Henderson, manager of two Saint Cecilia care homes in Scarborough, said much more funding was needed to tackle the staffing crisis hitting the sector now.

“Let’s try and think we are heading in the right direction,” she said, “but social care is struggling so much. We have gone through such difficult times over the last 18 months. We are doing our recruitment drives and people are not coming through. They are going to have to invest. These figures are nowhere near what we need. I find it quite disheartening at times.”

The care worker


Andrew Trehearne, who last month quit a job as a home carer in Oxford which paid just £75 for a day that would span up to 14 hours, said: “What shocked me was there’s precious little to help carers to stay in the business. This isn’t a plan, for goodness sake. The people I worked with were dedicated to the cause but this is not going to help them.”

Trehearne was one of hundreds of thousands of home care workers who often only get paid for 30 or 45 minute sessions when they are working with people in their homes, with travel time and breaks unpaid.

“There should be better pay and training but I have not seen anything like that,” he said. “We are utterly exhausted emotionally and physically.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Planned Australia Visit Draws Mixed Reaction From Local Communities
Trump Calls on France and UK to Help Safeguard Strait of Hormuz Shipping Route
Boris Johnson Labels Bitcoin a ‘Ponzi Scheme’, Sparking Debate in Crypto World
UK Considers Targeted Aid for Vulnerable Households as Energy Costs Rise
Stellantis Urges Immediate Review of UK Electric Vehicle Sales Targets
Home Office Reverses Course to Allow Some Dual Nationals to Enter UK Using EU Passports
Reform UK Proposes Replacing Top Civil Servants With Officials Aligned to Government Agenda
Netflix Adds Critically Acclaimed ‘Best Film of 2025’ With Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score
‘The Sums Don’t Add Up’: UK Farmers Hit by Soaring Costs as Iran War Disrupts Global Supplies
Confidential UK Biobank Health Records Found Online After Researchers Accidentally Expose Data
Trump Urges Britain and Allies to Deploy Warships to Safeguard Strait of Hormuz
Trump Urges Britain and Allies to Deploy Warships to Safeguard Strait of Hormuz
Middle East War Highlights Strategic Importance of Strong UK–Ireland Cooperation
Weak Growth Signals UK Economy Was Faltering Even Before Middle East Energy Shock
Marks & Spencer Tops UK Fashion Retail Rankings as Most Considered Brand
United States Launches Trade Investigation Into Allies Over Forced Labour Practices
United States Launches Trade Investigation Into Allies Over Forced Labour Practices
Russia Accuses Britain Over Storm Shadow Strike as London Reaffirms Ukraine’s Right to Self-Defence
Russia Accuses Britain Over Storm Shadow Strike as London Reaffirms Ukraine’s Right to Self-Defence
Royal Navy to Acquire Twenty Uncrewed Surface Vessels for Autonomous Warfare Testing
Russia Summons British and French Envoys After Ukrainian Storm Shadow Strike on Strategic Facility
Starmer Confirms Britain Will Maintain Sanctions on Russia Despite U.S. Policy Shift
UK Moves to Refine AI Definition in Investment Security Reform
UK Economy Stalls in January as Growth Unexpectedly Falls to Zero
Asian Energy Security Tested as Strait of Hormuz Disruption Threatens Oil Supplies
Iran Sets Three Conditions for Ending Regional War as Diplomatic Efforts Intensify
Tesla Secures Approval to Supply Electricity Directly to Homes Across Britain
Prince William Delivers Tribute to Australia’s Naval Alliance Amid Renewed Royal Spotlight on the Country
UK Foreign Secretary Travels to Saudi Arabia to Reinforce Support for Regional Allies
Putin’s ‘Hidden Hand’ May Be Assisting Iran in Conflict With Trump, UK Defence Secretary Warns
UK Sets April Deadline for Tech Platforms to Strengthen Online Protections for Children
Elon Musk Moves Into Britain’s Energy Market as Tesla Wins Licence to Supply Power
UK Watchdog Warns Fuel Retailers Against Profiteering Amid Iran War Price Surge
Report Claims Iran Used UK Charity Network to Expand Influence
United States and United Kingdom Establish Joint Standards for Counter-Drone Technology
Iran May Be Laying Naval Mines in Strait of Hormuz, UK Warns Amid Escalating Gulf Tensions
US Deploys Bunker-Buster Bombs to UK Airbase as Iran Conflict Intensifies
British Troops in Iraq Intercept Iranian Drones Targeting Coalition Base
Release of Mandelson Files Raises Tensions as UK Seeks Stable Relations With Donald Trump
UK Documents Reveal Starmer Was Warned About Mandelson’s Epstein Links Before Ambassador Appointment
Nearly Five Hundred UK Mortgage Deals Withdrawn in Two Days as Market Volatility Forces Lenders to Reprice
Three Cargo Ships Hit Near Iran as Attacks Spread to Strategic Strait of Hormuz
Why British Police Repeatedly Declined to Investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s UK Links
UK Parliament Ends Hereditary Seats in House of Lords, Closing Chapter on Centuries of Aristocratic Lawmaking
EU and UK Urge Israel to Act Against Rising West Bank Settler Violence Amid Regional Tensions
US Senator John Kennedy Says Keir Starmer Should Not Be Trusted for Military Advice Amid Iran War Debate
UK High Court Rejects Attempt to Revive Terrorism Charge Against Kneecap Rapper
Revolut Secures Full UK Banking Licence After Multi-Year Regulatory Wait
Kentucky’s Bench Boost Powers Wildcats Past LSU in SEC Tournament Opener
British Couple Die After Being Pulled From Water at Australian Beach During Family Visit
×