London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Treasury to decide how much of social care levy goes to NHS after 2025

Treasury to decide how much of social care levy goes to NHS after 2025

In first three years, less than one pound in six will go to social care sector, then chancellor will allocate
The chancellor will decide what proportion of the £12bn annual proceeds from the health and social care levy will go to the NHS after 2025, legislation published by the government confirms.

MPs approved the government’s plan for a 1.25-percentage-point rise in national insurance contributions in a House of Commons vote on Wednesday, but full details of how it will operate were only published on Thursday, in a new health and social care levy bill.

The leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, announced that MPs would be asked to pass the legislation in a single day, next Tuesday.

Just £5.4bn will go to the social care sector over the next three years – less than one pound in six of the revenue from the new tax.

After that, the bill says the proceeds of the levy will be allocated “in such shares as between health care and social care, and in such shares as between England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as the Treasury may determine”.

In practice, implementing the new £86,000 lifetime cap on social care costs, and a more generous system of means testing for patients with modest assets, will mean social care starts to absorb more of the revenue from the tax from autumn 2023.

But the government has not published any modelling of how rapidly the proportion devoted to social care will rise – and the health secretary, Sajid Javid, has declined to set out any details.

Social care leaders are concerned that the NHS will continue to absorb the vast majority of the proceeds from the new tax.

Nadra Ahmed, the executive chairman of the National Care Association, which represents independent care operators, said: “This is a recovery plan for the NHS and that is very obvious. The funding pot being talked about for social care is not sufficient to even address the issues of today.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman has insisted the proportion going to social care will increase over time, saying the NHS is currently facing a short-term “bow wave” of pressure, caused by the estimated 8 million people who did not come forward for treatment during the pandemic.

But Javid has declined to say whether the backlog can be cleared in three years, and cutting NHS funding after 2025 could prove politically challenging.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank warned this week that “an ever-growing NHS budget could swallow up all of this week’s tax rise, leaving little for social care”.

The Treasury has traditionally resisted the process of legally ringfencing the proceeds of a tax, but the government believes the new tax will make the increase more acceptable to voters.

The care minister, Helen Whatley, was challenged about the issue in interviews on Thursday. She insisted extra resources were already going into the creaking social care system.

“Over the pandemic, an extra £6bn has gone to local authorities, which they have been able to use for social care. We have directed £2bn specifically into the extra infection control costs for social care during the pandemic,” she said.

“We are directly actively supporting social care right now. But what this is about is those big reforms to social care that everyone has been calling for so long.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×