The increasing burden to employers in the form of national insurance was discussed in a motion at the final North Lanarkshire Council meeting of 2024.
With the UK Government’s October budget increasing employer contributions to 15 per cent, and reducing earning thresholds, SNP councillor for Kilsyth Denis Johnston presented a motion at full council.
This highlighted that the council faced an additional cost of around £11 million which was likely to impact many organisations including those providing education, health and social care services, while the total cost in Scotland would be in the region of £750 million.
It also called on the council to agree that a rumoured £300 million provision to Scotland was insufficient, that it was unacceptable for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to withhold notification of the final position until her spring statement, three months after the Scottish Government would set its budget, and called for the council leader and finance convener to write to the chancellor.
The council’s SNP group tabled an amendment from finance convener Andrew Duffy-Lawson (Motherwell North) who thanked the SNP for bringing this debate to the meeting.
He then praised the UK Labour government for making record investment in Scotland, promising a prosperous future for its residents with the largest payment to the Scottish Government since devolution began and a pay increase for the lowest paid.
However he added that investment requires funding, then highlighted the SNP’s track record of rejecting tax raising measures without proposing viable alternatives.
Referring to his own experience working in the charity sector, he acknowledged that the changes to national insurance would create a burden but the services highlighted in the motion depended on well funded public services, before highlighting assurances from the Chancellor that support would be in place to assist with the increased national insurance.
In the final vote of the year, the amendment won out over the motion with 34 votes to 23 with seven abstentions.
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