• For too long growth has not been as high as it needs to be, making it harder to pay for public services – the Government is clear that this should not result in hiking taxes for hard-working families.
• That is why the Government is repealing the Health & Social Care Levy Act – putting £330 a year back in the pockets of typical workers without compromising the record funding of £39 billion for the NHS and social care.
• Reversing the Levy will mean families are not saddled with further costs to cover public expenditure – helping with the cost of living whilst delivering a health service people can rely on.

The House of Commons has passed Government legislation (on Tuesday, 11th October) to repeal the Health & Social Care Levy – putting more back into the pockets of workers across the country.

Henry Smith MP has welcomed the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s measures, which set out how families and businesses across Crawley will see their National Insurance contributions reduced by 1.25 per cent.

This means 4 million people across the south east of England will keep more of the money they earn each month. Nationally, 28 million workers will be paying less in National Insurance Contributions thanks to the cut.

By April 2023, this cut will save the typical worker £330 per year, with an immediate saving of £135 this year.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, Thérèse Coffey, confirmed that this reversal would not impact the NHS budget. The Government will maintain the £39 billion funding uplift, helping to cut the Covid-19 backlogs, deliver more doctors’ appointments, and fix social care.

Henry said;

“In the face of rising energy prices and cost of living pressures around the world, it’s right that the Government has come forward with this Growth Plan.

“I welcome the support set out for people across Crawley, including the cut to National Insurance contributions, as well as other measures including cuts to Income Tax and Stamp Duty – all helping local families to keep more of their own money.

“Only this Government can be trusted to cut taxes for working people and grow the economy – delivering more money for our public services while ensuring people keep more of their hard-earned money.”

These measures build on the Government’s further tax cuts – including cutting stamp duty permanently by doubling the nil-rate band to £250,000 (from £125,000), increasing the nil-rate band for first-time buyers to £425,000 (from £300,000) and increasing the value of the property which first-time buyers can claim relief to £625,000 (from £500,000).

This is in addition to reducing the basic rate of income tax by one per cent – delivering a tax cut for 31 million workers.

The Government has also announced at least 38 Investment Zones across England in addition to new Investment Zones in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, unlocking housing and driving growth through tax incentives. Under the Government’s Growth Plan 2022, over 100 infrastructure projects will also be accelerated.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, commented;

“The Growth Plan cuts stamp duty, allows businesses to keep more of their money to invest and cuts income tax and National Insurance for millions of workers.

“The reversal of the Levy delivers a tax cut for 28 million people and is worth, on average, £330 every year. It is a tax cut for nearly 1 million businesses.

“This helps people keep more of the money they earn without compromising the record investment in our NHS.”