Leuchie House said it would lead to “suffering for families”.
The CEO of a high-profile Scottish charity has written to the Prime Minister urging him to rethink his government’s plans to increase employers' National Insurance contributions.
Mark Bevan of Leuchie House, near North Berwick, has said the announcement - made by Sir Keir Starmer’s government last month - would result in an "increase in suffering for families".
Leuchie House is the only specialist provider of overnight respite care with combined health and healthcare technology services for people with Neurological conditions in the UK.
But its CEO has now said the impact of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget is the introduction of an unfunded cost increase of £100k for the charity.
Mr Bevan said: “The impact of your Chancellor's budget is the introduction of an unfunded cost increase of £100k for the charity. This will lead to a reduction in charity support and an increase in suffering for families. There will be a directly consequential increase in the cost of statutory health and social care services.
“Leuchie is but one of many charities bridging the gap, between the health needs of some of the most vulnerable in our population and the shortage caused by an overburdened health and social care system. Balancing improvements in the NHS on the back of gap filling charities is a Treasury move which is hard to understand, impossible for charities to sustain and deeply unpopular.
“This, perhaps unintended consequence of the otherwise understandable Treasury decision to increase employers National Insurance contributions, requires your leadership to address by mitigating the impact for UK health charities.”
Neurological conditions are now the leading cause of disability globally and in the UK contribute significantly to the growing burden of disease on NHS and Social Care Services.
Leuchie said their “proactive and preventative health services” mean that “the burden on our NHS, Social Care System and the families and relatives” using Leuchie House is reduced, with service users travelling from “all parts of the UK to access this scarce resource”.
A spokesperson for HM Treasury told the East Lothian Courier that its tax regime for charities, including exemption from paying business rates, was "among the most generous of anywhere in the world".
They added: "We have protected small charities and businesses by more than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of them with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year.
"Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including where eligible and are still exempt from business rates."
