London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Feb 24, 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
UK Economy Faces Acute Strain as Trump’s Global Tariff Reshapes Trade Landscape
UK Signals Retaliation Is Possible as New US Tariff Policy Threatens Trade Stability
British Police Arrest Former Ambassador Peter Mandelson in Epstein-Related Misconduct Probe
Australia Officially Supports Proposal to Remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from Royal Succession
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan remains silent on ISIS brides' resettlement plans in Melbourne
Former UK Ambassador Peter Mandelson Arrested in Connection with Jeffrey Epstein
Jacob Rees Mogg afraid to talk about Peter Mandelson arrest on “suspicion of misconduct in a public office” (Pedophilia, corruption, etc.)
United Nations Calls for Global Action Against Disinformation and Hate Speech Online
Tucker Carlson warns of an inevitable clash in Western societies over mass migration
President Trump warns countries against abandoning recent trade deals with the US
Diverging Polls Show Mixed Signals on UK Economic Revival as Confidence Remains Fragile
Spotify Expands AI-Driven ‘Prompted Playlists’ Feature to the United Kingdom and Other Markets
Greens and Reform UK Surge in Manchester By-Election, Threatening Labour’s Historic Stronghold
UK Businesses Push for Closer European Trade Links Amid Renewed US Tariff Uncertainty
Deloitte Global Overhaul Sparks Leadership Contest in the United Kingdom
University of Kentucky and Microsoft to Showcase Campus-Wide AI Innovation
UK Food System Faces Acute Vulnerability to Shocks, Experts Warn
Reform UK’s Proposed ICE-Style Deportation Scheme Triggers Sharp Backlash
U.S. Global Tariff Push Leaves Britain, Australia and Others Facing Higher Costs and Trade Strain
UK Police Officers Guarded 2010 Epstein Dinner Attended by Prince Andrew, Reports Say
US Trade Representative Affirms Commitment to Existing Tariff Agreements with UK and Other Partners
Activists at the Louvre hung a framed Reuters photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor slumped in the back of a car leaving a police station on the day of his arrest
The royal biographer said that he expected the police to 'look at the money trail' - including Sarah Ferguson borrowing money from Epstein
A Protestor screams in NYC: “Bill Gates is on the Epstein’s List…”
FBI and Secret Service Hold Press Conference After Shooting Incident at Mar-a-Lago
Mark Zuckerberg Testifies in Trial Over Social Media's Impact on Children's Mental Health
Maggie Oliver exposes Keir Starmer using letters to close child rapists investigations
Kouri Richie's wrote a children’s book to help her sons grieve the death of their father. Now she’ll stand trial for his murder
New York Braces for Major Snowstorm With Up to 18 Inches Forecast and Blizzard Warnings Issued
Mexican Military Kills CJNG Leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes as Violence Erupts Across Jalisco
Metropolitan Police Deploys Palantir-Powered AI to Flag Potential Officer Misconduct
UK Parliament Rebukes Police Over Ban on Israeli Football Fans
Britain Emerges Among a Small Group of Nations Without a Religious Majority
UK’s Manufacturing Base at Risk as Soaring Energy Costs Weigh on Industry
Matt Goodwin’s Unconventional Campaign for Reform UK in the Gorton and Denton By-Election
US Military Movements in the UK Spark Speculation Over Preparations Related to Iran Tensions
UK Faces Significant Economic Risk From Trump’s New Global Tariff Regime
UK Defence Secretary Signals Intent to Deploy British Troops to Ukraine
UK Students Mark Lunar New Year as Universities Adjust to New Equality Compliance Rules
UK Government Weighs Removing Prince Andrew from Line of Succession After Arrest
Prince Andrew’s Arrest in UK Rekindles Scrutiny Over US Handling of Epstein Records
Trump’s Strategic Warning to UK Over Chagos Islands Deal Sparks Diplomatic Whiplash
Starmer Government Postpones Local Elections Affecting 4.5 Million Voters
UK Economy Remains Fragile Despite Recent Upturn in Headline Indicators
UK Businesses Face Fresh Uncertainty Following US Tariff Ruling
Reform UK’s Senior Figures Face Scrutiny Over Remarks on Women and Family Policy
UK Electric Vehicle Drive Threatened by Shortage of 44,000 Qualified Technicians
University of Kentucky Trustees Advance Academic Reforms and Approve Coliseum Plaza Purchase
Boris Johnson Calls for Immediate Deployment of UK Troops to Support Ukraine
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praises the rapid progress of Chinese tech companies.
×