14/05/2025
Employer NI Hike Adds £140m To NI Health Department Pressures
The recent increase in National Insurance contributions for employers has added approximately £140 million to the Department of Health's financial pressures this year, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has revealed.
This significant sum includes around £100 million related to directly employed staff within Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts and other statutory organisations.
In response, Minister Nesbitt has confirmed that funding will be made available to help support non-statutory providers of health and social care in meeting their additional National Insurance bills. This support package is projected to cost £40 million and will cover social care providers and hospices, as well as family health service providers such as GPs, dentists, community pharmacies, and opticians.
Within this package, £3.5 million has been specifically earmarked for GPs to cover National Insurance costs, and this has been detailed in the 2025/26 GP contract discussions. However, it was noted that the British Medical Association (BMA) has asked its GP members to reject the current contract offer.
For other family health service providers, £4 million has been allocated for community pharmacies, £2.5 million for General Dental Services, and £1 million for General Ophthalmic Services.
The Health Minister commented: "My three-year plan for health and social care includes stabilisation of services amid the current severe financial pressures. Providing assistance with rising National Insurance bills very much fits in with the stabilisation objective."
He emphasised the importance of this support: "It is crucially important to support providers who have been hit with additional costs for reasons entirely outside their control. I have therefore decided to take a financial hit rather than leave health care providers to deal with the UK Government's hike in National Insurance contributions by themselves. That would have been deeply unfair and would have been detrimental to health and social care provision."
This significant sum includes around £100 million related to directly employed staff within Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts and other statutory organisations.
In response, Minister Nesbitt has confirmed that funding will be made available to help support non-statutory providers of health and social care in meeting their additional National Insurance bills. This support package is projected to cost £40 million and will cover social care providers and hospices, as well as family health service providers such as GPs, dentists, community pharmacies, and opticians.
For other family health service providers, £4 million has been allocated for community pharmacies, £2.5 million for General Dental Services, and £1 million for General Ophthalmic Services.
The Health Minister commented: "My three-year plan for health and social care includes stabilisation of services amid the current severe financial pressures. Providing assistance with rising National Insurance bills very much fits in with the stabilisation objective."
He emphasised the importance of this support: "It is crucially important to support providers who have been hit with additional costs for reasons entirely outside their control. I have therefore decided to take a financial hit rather than leave health care providers to deal with the UK Government's hike in National Insurance contributions by themselves. That would have been deeply unfair and would have been detrimental to health and social care provision."
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