GP practices demand protection against National Insurance hike

The Chair of the RCGP stated that the additional financial burden caused by the National Insurance hike will be “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has raised ‘serious concerns’ about the impact of the increase in National Insurance on GP practices, and is calling for adequate funding to cover these additional costs.

In the 2024 Budget of the new Labour government, the rate of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) was raised by 1.2 percentage points to 15%, effective from 6 April 2025.

The per-employee threshold at which employers start paying NICs was also reduced from £9,100 per year to £5,000 per year.

RCGP Chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne has warned that this extra financial burden could lead to the closure of some GP practices.

“We have very serious concerns about the impact of the increase in National Insurance employer contributions on GP practices right across the country, many of whom are already struggling to keep their doors open and make ends meet due to historic chronic underfunding.

“They are working their hardest to provide quality care for their patients against a backdrop of significant budget constraints and staffing challenges - and this added level of insecurity will only compound these pressures.

“For some, this extra financial burden will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, forcing them to make tough decisions on redundancies or even closing their practice, and ultimately it is our patients who will bear the brunt.”

Professor Hawthorne stated that they are writing to the health secretary today to seek urgent assurances that “GP practices will be given the same protection as the rest of the NHS and public sector and receive the necessary funding to cover these additional costs.”

She emphasised that, as pointed out by the health secretary, general practice serves as the front door of the NHS – providing tens of millions of patient appointments per month.

The government also has ambitious plans to move much more care from hospitals to community settings.

“We are very keen to work with them to make this happen, but we need significant investment - not more worry and financial insecurity,” stated Professor Hawthorne.

However, the RCGP welcomed more funding for the NHS estate, including a dedicated fund to improve GP practices.

"This is a small step in the right direction, but major challenges will remain with more than a third (34%) of our members reporting their practice building is inadequate for providing care for patients," she stated.