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.