Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Get your mitts off our NHS’ – Ian Blackford clashes with Boris Johnson in National Insurance row

The SNP’s Westminster leader and the Prime Minister have clashed in the House of Commons over plans to to raise National Insurance to fund social care in England.

The government wants to raise National Insurance by 1.25 percentage points to help fund the NHS and adult social care to the tune of £36 billion over the next three years.

Boris Johnson says Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will benefit from an extra £2.2 billion a year, which he claims is around 15% more than they would contribute through the levy, so will therefore create a “union dividend” of £300 million.

“While Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own system, we will direct money raised through the levy to their health and social care services” the PM says.

However in a heated exchange on Tuesday, Mr Blackford claimed the PM is seeking to introduce his own version of a “poll tax on Scottish workers” via the social care reforms.

Mr Blackford told MPs: “By raising this levy across the UK, the Tories are taxing Scottish workers twice – forcing them to pay the bill for social care in England as well as at home in Scotland.

“Let me tell you prime minister that health is devolved to the Scottish Government, the prime minister can get his mitts off our health system.”

What is the disagreement about?

The prime minister plans to increase National Insurance to fund social care reforms south of the border.

The tax power is held by Westminster, meaning it would apply across the UK.

This triggers extra payments for devolved governments to make up for the additional cost, but has lead to claims working families are being burdened while wealthier earners are not.

Ahead of the announcement the SNP were joined by a number of Conservatives against the plan, but backbench opposition had largely melted away by the time Mr Johnson made his announcement in the chamber.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking in the House of Commons, September 7 2021

How does National Insurance work?

National Insurance contributions are based on weekly financial thresholds, with 0% due on the first £184 earned, 12% on sums between £184.01 and £967, and 2% on remaining earnings.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average weekly wage in Great Britain is £576, with a weekly National Insurance contribution amounting to £47.04 (8.16%).

So anyone whose primary earnings are above the £967 2% threshold, or just over £50,000 a year, ultimately pays a proportionately lower rate than those who have the bulk of their earnings in the 12% threshold.

As such, much of the criticism of the plan revolves around the unfair impact a National Insurance hike would have on young and lower income workers.

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.