A hike in national insurance is set to hit Bristol City Council

National World - LocalTV

A hike in national insurance will hit Bristol City Council next month costing millions of pounds. The government is increasing how much employers have to contribute to national insurance, which will add further pressure to already stretched public services.

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00:00A hike in National Insurance will hit the City Council next month, costing millions

00:08of pounds. The government is increasing how much employers have to contribute to National

00:14Insurance, which will add further pressure to already stretched public services.

00:21Last month, the Council voted through a gigantic budget for the next financial year, which

00:27begins this April, including a 4.99% increase in Council tax. But pressures on the budget

00:34continue as demand for expensive services like social care rises faster than funding

00:40from the government. Also this April, the rate at which employers pay National Insurance

00:46increases from 13.8% to 15%. This could cost the Council about £6m a year, not including

00:54the impacts on Bristol Waste or the hundreds of contractors which help to provide local

00:59public services. Green councillor Tony Dyer, leader of the Council, called on the government

01:06for both more money and more flexibility on spending that money. In an interview with

01:13the local democracy reporting service, he repeated warnings that without government

01:19action, spiralling costs of support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities

01:26could soon be catastrophic. Bristol was given a 7% increase in its core spending power,

01:33which is more like 5% when taking into account inflation. But the costs of providing many

01:40council services is increasing at double that rate.

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