GP practices demand protection against National Insurance hike

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.