Exempt Health Charities from Employer Tax Hike, Stuart Anderson MP Says
Health charities should be exempted from the hike on employer national insurance contributions, Stuart Anderson MP has said.
Stuart Anderson MP is calling for health charities to be exempt from a £25 billion tax hike announced in the Autumn Budget. He criticised the government’s decision to impose a blanket increase in employer’s National Insurance Contributions to 15% in April 2025 - alongside reducing the threshold at which employers start to pay it from £9,100 to £5,000 per year.
The Health Secretary has hinted NHS services will recoup the costs but has not extended equivalent support to health charities that complement those services, such as Midlands Air Ambulance Charity - the air ambulance service for Shropshire. Stuart said the exemption should apply in line with that already announced for hospital trusts and other NHS bodies.
Since 1991, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity has responded to more than 77,500 potentially lifesaving missions. This includes more than 100 missions in South Shropshire over the last year - with deployments taking place in Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Much Wenlock, on the Shrewsbury border, and near Kidderminster.
The charity does not receive government funding for its daily missions and relies entirely on the kind support and generosity of local people and businesses. It costs £16 million each year to maintain the service so there is not much scope to absorb the costs resulting from the tax hike - which it expects to add a further £179,000 to their bill.
In Parliament last month, Stuart met with representatives from the service and pledged his support for their essential pre-hospital emergency service across South Shropshire. He is pleased to support their campaign to be exempt from the tax hike.
At the reception, Stuart celebrated their lifesaving work, which has resulted in them being rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission. He met local resident Joanne Van Mook (pictured) who experienced the lifesaving intervention of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, and was also briefed on recent developments in clinical services which benefit local residents.
Stuart met critical care paramedics and pre-hospital emergency medicine doctors who provided an insight into the charity’s vital work in South Shropshire. Stuart also practiced CPR, an invaluable skill that keeps the heart pumping blood around the body until emergency help arrives.
Every minute without CPR and defibrillation after a cardiac arrest can reduce the chance of survival by up to 10%. Across the country, Air Ambulances complete over 25,000 lifesaving missions a year - that is more than one mission every 10 minutes.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“Midlands Air Ambulance Charity provides an invaluable service in providing emergency pre-hospital care across South Shropshire, having responded to more than 100 missions in the last year from Much Wenlock and Craven Arms to Ludlow and Church Stretton. As a charity, the service relies entirely on donations and has little scope to absorb the costs resulting from this tax hike. Without mitigation, it could add almost £180,000 to their running costs. So, I have requested health charities to be made exempt it."
Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Chief Executive Hanna Sebright said:
“As an independent pre-hospital emergency service, rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, we do not burden the NHS financially or otherwise. It is quite the opposite, we add immense value to the regional health care system by rapidly providing advanced patient care at the incident scene, giving patients the best chance of survival and a good recovery.”
The last government provided significant support to the air ambulance sector. A total of £6 million of COVID-19 emergency funding was made available to all 21 air ambulance charities across the UK in 2020, assisting the continuity of air ambulance response during the pandemic.
Whether it’s a donation of funds, subscription to the lifesaving lottery, or volunteering your time, there are a range of different ways you can make a difference and support Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. For more information, please visit www.midlandsairambulance.com/support-us/.
