British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday announced a hike in social security contributions, breaking a campaign pledge to get the health care system back on its feet and tackle the very long delays in care accumulated during the pandemic.
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Strongly criticized even in the ranks of his conservative majority hostile to tax increases, the head of government specified that this increase of 1.25% applying in April 2022 would also be used to finance the care, often very expensive, adults in need of support, such as the elderly in retirement homes.
After “The worst pandemic in a century (…), we must now help the NHS to recover”Mr Johnson told MPs. “We must now provide the funding to make it happen”, he added, stressing that this increase in social contributions would make it possible to raise 36 billion pounds (42 billion euros) over the next three years, after an injection of 5.4 billion pounds over the next six months .
The coronavirus has greatly increased the pressure on the public health service, a free system revered by the British already in bad shape before the pandemic, with delays and chronic staff shortages. A record more than five million people are currently on a waiting list for elective care in England and if left unchecked that number could rise to 13 million by the end of the year, according to the government .
“I recognize that this breaks a commitment of the program” presented as part of the legislative elections of December 2019, admitted Boris Johnson. “It’s not something I do lightly” most “A global pandemic was not included in any program”, he added, stressing that the virus had damaged public finances.
The increase in social contributions, which will apply to both employees and employers, will also help finance the supervision of the elderly and adults in need of support, for example those suffering from dementia, a reform long promised by governments. successive in the United Kingdom.
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Currently, anyone with assets exceeding 23,250 pounds must take charge of everything, leading to sometimes difficult situations where some go so far as to sell their house to ensure their support. From October 2023, expenses will be capped at 86,000 pounds per person.
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