London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2026

Social care won't get money it needs, warns Jeremy Hunt

Social care won't get money it needs, warns Jeremy Hunt

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said social care "does not actually get as much money as it needs" under government plans for new health taxes.

The Conservative MP was speaking as MPs voted through legislation to establish the £36bn health and social care tax.

Ministers say the extra funding will help the NHS recover from the pandemic, as well as boosting social care.

But Labour and some Conservatives says a tax rise is being rushed through without a proper plan.

The Health and Social Care Levy Bill cleared the House of Commons on Tuesday evening after MPs gave it a third reading by 307 votes to 251, majority 56.

In an usual move, it progressed through all its Commons stages in one day because ministers want it to become law quickly.

It will undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords at a later date.

Ten Tory MPs rebelled against the government at third reading.

The bill enables ministers to raise national insurance by 1.25 percentage points next year, before a new health and social care levy kicks in, in 2023.

The government says the plans will generate £12bn a year over three years with around 85% of the money raised going to the NHS to help target record waiting lists and £5.4bn going to social care.

Opening the debate, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay said the tax will help deal "with the consequence of Covid, the backlog in care that needs to be tackled but also grasping the nettle in terms of long-term challenges around social care".

And he said senior NHS leaders had made clear that without the additional financial support, the backlog in the heath service could not be properly addressed.

NHS 'gobbles up' funding


But Mr Hunt, who chairs the Health and Social Care Select Committee, said ministers need to be wary of "falling in to a trap" over social care funding.

He said: "Whilst this is a generous settlement, if we are honest, in the next three years, social care does not actually get as much money as it needs.

"The truth is that after that there is a risk of the NHS continuing to gobble up the lion's share."

He said no Conservative liked raising taxes and he feared "that if what we have done so far is tough, what is to come will be even tougher still".

"If you put your hands into people's pockets and take money out of them and they don't see visible improvements in the service they receive they get very angry indeed," he added.

'Kill the recovery'


Several Conservatives warned the tax rise will cost jobs.

Former minister John Redwood, who was among a number of Conservative MPs to abstain in the vote, said there was a danger the government's plans to increase taxes will "kill the recovery".

"This is too soon, government, to start breaking the economy," he said.

"Before the economy is completely opened up, before people have stabilised their businesses, before people have repaired some of the balance sheet damage which the pandemic measures did, it is not the right time to take money off people."

Conservative MP John Baron said he wanted to "question the "unfairness" of the increase given that it will "disproportionately fall on the lower paid" and he asked why "wealthy non-working pensioners be exempt?"

Another Conservative, Richard Drax, urged ministers to lower taxes , criticising the plans as "Labour-lite".

No proper plan?

Labour's shadow Treasury minister, James Murray, said ministers were rushing the legislation through the Commons with just a "few hours" of scrutiny because they wanted to avoid "giving their own side enough time to push back".

"They want to make sure that by the time it sinks in with their own MPs what a mistake this tax rise is, it will be too late for their backbenchers to mount any opposition," he said.

"Perhaps it is also sinking in with their backbenchers that the prime minister and the chancellor are pushing through these plans for a tax rise without a plan for social care."

Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson Munira Wilson said the date at which the proposed personal care cap of £86,000 kicks in could cause a "massive cliff edge".

She said: "Lots of people will try and avoid coming forward for care in the months before October 2023 and there will be a massive surge."

SNP shadow Treasury spokesperson, Alison Thewliss, said the tax rise, which is UK-wide, was "disproportionate and "unfair" and a threat to devolution.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
East Midlands Railway Urges Essential Travel Ahead of Bank Holiday Strikes
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Global and Energy Pressures Weigh
UK Government and Sainsbury’s Launch Plan for 10,000 Youth Work Experience Placements
Scottish Government Plans Tighter Remote-Working Rules and Possible Voluntary Redundancies
Scottish Budget Faces More Than £700 Million Reduction After Tax Revenue Adjustment
Nearly 100 Labour MPs Press Andy Burnham to Back Electoral Reform Commission
UK Energy Price Cap Rises Four Percent to £1,723 as Middle East Conflict Drives Wholesale Gas Costs
Turnbull Warns AUKUS Could Leave Australia Without Promised Nuclear Submarines
California Billionaires Pour More Than $150 Million Into Fight Over Proposed Wealth Tax
German Broadcaster Goes Dark to Warn AfD Could End Its Saxony-Anhalt Service
Badenoch Plans Major Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle as Tories Struggle in Third Place
UK Government Demands Action Against Social Media Content Promoting Dangerous Driving
Labour Backbenchers Prepare Push for Electoral Reform Under Andy Burnham
Fire at Gatwick Airport Car Park Destroys 140 Vehicles and Cuts Local Power
UK Plans Voluntary Libido-Suppressing Medication Programme Across 20 Prisons
NHS England Launches Free Home Cervical Cancer Testing Kits Nationwide
Imperial College Study Warns North Sea Oil Projects Could Cause Hundreds of Billions of Pounds in Climate Damage
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Middle East Conflict Pushes Up Energy Costs
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv to Strengthen UK Support for Ukraine
Premier League Season Opens With Managerial Debuts and Dramatic Early Fixtures
England Cricket Drops Brydon Carse From Selection Pending Club Investigation
Graeme Dott Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse Offences in Scotland
Protesters Occupy British Aircraft Parts Factory Over Alleged Military Links to Israel
More Than 100 Former British and French Diplomats Call for Sanctions on Israel
Ipsos Poll Shows British Public Split Between Immigration Controls and Economic Growth
British Cybersecurity Agencies Raise Alert Over Growing Threats to Critical Infrastructure
Two-Thirds of England Now Under Official Drought Conditions After Prolonged Summer Heat
Institute of Directors Calls for Urgent Action to Revive Britain’s Stagnant Labour Market
Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv on First Foreign Trip and Pledges Continued British Support for Ukraine
New Daily Diabetes and Weight-Loss Pill Launches in UK Pharmacies
UK Payroll Employment Falls by 94,000 as Labour Market Cools
Onshore Wind Planning Applications in England Reach Ten-Year High After Rules Eased
UK Government Demands Social Media Platforms Remove Dangerous Driving Content After A66 Crash
Thames Water Creditors Face Backlash Over Proposed Corporate Restructuring
Twelve Arrested After Fatal A66 Crash Linked to Organised Crime Investigation
UK Household Energy Debt Could Reach £7 Billion by Year-End
UK Defence Ministry to Use Ukraine Battlefield Data to Train AI Security Systems
UK Government Redirects £4 Billion of Affordable Homes Funding Away From Social Housing
UK Government Borrowing Reaches £1.8 Billion in July, Exceeding Forecasts
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Pledges Advanced Missile Support for Ukraine
8Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Risks Rise
Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Give Ukraine Classified Storm Shadow Blueprints for Domestic Missile Production
UK Graduate Job Vacancies Plunge 45% to Lowest Levels on Record
Government Audit Reveals Pressure on UK Hospitality From Business Rates and Rising Costs
Kindertransport Survivor Prepares to Revisit European Sites Linked to Her Family’s Wartime Separation
Northern England Transport Operators Strengthen Contingency Plans as Travel Demand Rises
New Implant Trials Offer Treatment Prospects for Patients With Refractory Angina
×