MP: Insufficient time to consider momentous changes
John Baron MP will vote against the legislation which will establish the Health and Social Care Levy.
John said,
“The Government deserves credit for grasping the nettle and committing to much-needed social care reform, but it is taking this too quickly. We do not even know the details of the coming reforms, despite raising £36 billion which is more than some budgets raise.”
“Parliament requires more time to scrutinise these proposals. For example, why has the Government decided to cover the costs of these reforms through taxation? Other countries find other ways of paying, some through a mixture of private or public insurance.”
“As Conservatives know well, a tax on National Insurance is a tax on jobs, and there is an unfairness in that low-paid workers will pay a higher proportion of their income in National Insurance. As our economy rebounds from the pandemic, we would be foolish to risk choking off this recovery.”
“There are also important questions as to how the proceeds of this tax rise will be redirected away from the NHS and towards social care in the coming years. The seeds of the next tax rise are planted in this one if, as seems likely, extra funds will be required at that point. In addition, without reform there is a danger these extra NHS funds will not reach the front line as intended.”
“For all these reasons, I did not vote for the Bill today.”
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