National Insurance: Charities, councils and public sector join John Swinney appeal to Rachel Reeves

The heads of 50 care providers, rape crisis centres and public sector organisations have signed a Scottish Government letter urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to take action over National Insurance.

Employers' National Insurance contributions are set to rise as part of UK Budget measures. 

The UK Government has said the move will raise £20bn for the public purse and around £300m will be provided to officials in Edinburgh to meet the additional costs faced by the public sector in Scotland. 

But in a letter to Reeves, First Minister John Swinney and Shona Morrison, president of councils body Cosla, say the cost to public service provision could be "well over" £700m.

And it is claimed that third sector sector costs could rise by £75m per year.

Backed by 48 organisations from across civic Scotland, Swinney and Morrison have called on Reeves to "fully cover the additional costs of employer National Insurance contributions and extend to the full range of organisations delivering public services, who face increased costs as a result of this change".

They claim that, without this cover, the shift could mean some organisations are unable to "continue to operate".

Signatories include leaders from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.

Colleges Scotland, Scottish Women's Aid and Skills Development Scotland have also backed the letter.

In it, Swinney and Morrison call on Reeves to take an "actual costs approach" to the matter and confirm more cash to cover the NI contributions rise "before the final stages of the Scottish Budget".

The pair wrote: "We are grateful to the representatives of civic Scotland who have added their support to this letter, and their voice to the call that we are making for urgent work to now take place to ensure that our public services, voluntary organisations and communities do not suffer as a result of this change to reserved UK taxation. We do not believe that anyone would wish that to be the outcome."

Swinney commented: "“I would like to thank all the public and voluntary sector organisations who have come together to call in a unified voice for this decision to be reconsidered.

"We are disappointed that the UK Government did not engage with the Scottish Government on the change to employers National Insurance contributions and we are concerned about the additional pressure it places on all employers. The Scottish Budget is expected to pass within weeks, and alongside local authorities, we need clarity.

"We will continue to press the UK Government to raise our deep concern about the implications of the increase to employer National Insurance contributions for organisations across Scotland, and the risk to the vital services they provide if these additional costs are not fully funded."

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has described the National Insurance increase as "catastrophic" and said it would be "entirely proper" for the UK Government to provide cover for this.

However, Scottish Labour depute leader Jackie Baillie has said her party is "delivering record levels of funding for Scotland" and the Treasury has said it had to "make difficult choices to fix the foundations of the country and restore desperately needed economic stability".

The UK Government has said its Budget "delivered more money than ever before for Scottish public services and the Scottish Government receives over 20 per cent more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending". 

The Labour administration said "it is for the Scottish Government to allocate this across its own public sector and meet the priorities of people in Scotland" along with additional Barnett funding "as part of support provided in relation to changes to employer National Insurance".

Signatories to the letter include:

Roz Foyer, general secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC)

Anna Fowlie, chief executive, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)

Martin Green, chair, Community Pharmacy Scotland

Eilidh Thomson, chair, Optometry Scotland

David McColl, chair of the Scottish Dental Practice Committee, British Dental Association

Jacki Smart, chair, Scottish Hospices Leadership Group

Gavin Sinclair, director of funding and partnerships, Venture Trust

Wilma Thomson, manager, Rape Crisis Grampian

Sharon Aitchison, chief executive, Monklands Women’s Aid

Marsha Scott, chief executive, Scottish Women's Aid

Lauren McGregor, children and young person’s team leader and independent domestic abuse advocate, Committed to Ending Abuse (CEA Ltd)

Susie Stein, chief executive, Scottish Borders Rape Crisis Centre

Jan Swan, chief executive, Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre

Colin Lee, chief executive, Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations (CEMVO) Scotland

Aaliya Seyal, chief executive officer, Legal Services Agency Ltd

Donna Hutchison, chief executive, Aberdeen Cyrenians

Angela Barron, chief executive, Forth Valley Rape Crisis Centre

Linda Rodgers, chief executive, Edinburgh Women’s Aid

Alana Harper, chief executive, Tayside Deaf Hub

Pam Hunter, chief executive, SAY Women

Karen Moore, interim change manager, Motherwell District Women’s Aid

Shirley Middleditch, manager, South Ayrshire Women’s Aid

Sandy Brindley, chief executive, Rape Crisis Scotland

Maria Jose Pavez Larrea, co-general manager, Grampian Regional Equality Council (GREC)

Paul Wilson, chief officer, Volunteer Edinburgh

Nicola Livingston, chair, Scottish Council of Jewish Communities

Dr Richard Groden, chair, Jewish Care Scotland

Dr Donny Lyons, co-chair, Cosgrove Care

Sabir Zazai OBE, chief executive, Scottish Refugee Council

Jane Wood, chief executive officer, Homes for Scotland

Catherine Dyer CBE, chair, Community Justice Scotland

Stuart Stevens, chief officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Graeme McAlister, chief executive, Scottish Childminding Association

Jaci Douglas, chief executive, Care and Learning Alliance

Ben McLeish, director, 2020 Together

Louise Licznerski, founding director, Scottish Outdoor Learning Association

Irene Audain, chief executive, Scottish Out of School Care Network

Jonathan Broadbery, director of policy and communications, National Day Nurseries Association

Sharon Fairley, chief executive, Scottish Private Nursery Association

Jane Brumpton, chief executive, Early Years Scotland

Fraser McKinlay, chief executive, The Promise Scotland

Francis Scott, director of services, St Phillips School

Stuart Provan, chief executive officer, Seamab Care and Education

Mary Geaney, chief executive officer, Rossie Young Peoples Trust

Martin Boyle, interim chief executive, Scottish Funding Council

Pauline Radcliffe, chief executive, Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework

Graeme Jackson, interim chief executive, Colleges Scotland

Frank Mitchell, chair, Skills Development Scotland 

Damien Yeates, chief executive, Skills Development Scotland