We recently sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison regarding Employer NI contributions for primary care providers in Scotland.
Shona Robison MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
By email
20 November 2024
Dear Cabinet Secretary,
We are writing on behalf of General Medical Practitioners, General Dental Practitioners, Pharmacists and Optometrists across Scotland.
These providers of NHS primary care services operate as independent contractors, and some are small businesses. As the front door to the NHS, they need your support to protect them from significant increases in overheads following the UK Government’s recent Budget.
Public sector relief from National Insurance contributions is being offered to insulate secondary care. You must take the opportunity to provide the equivalent relief for Scotland’s NHS primary medical and dental care providers, pharmacy, and optometry.
Failure to do so will have real consequences for the communities we serve. It could mean independent contractors closing services, returning contracts, and patients struggling to access needed care. We urge you to address this wholly unacceptable financial burden and provide assurances that any associated increases will be mitigated.
Please can the content of this letter be referenced in dialogue with the UK Government, to ensure our concerns are formally put on the record.
Yours sincerely,
David McColl Iain Morrison
Chair, Scottish Dental Practice Committee Chair, Scottish General Practitioners Committee
British Dental Association British Medical Association
Matt Barclay Eilidh Thomson
CEO, Community Pharmacy Scotland Chair, Optometry Scotland
Cc
Neil Gray MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Jenni Minto MSP, Minster for Public Health and Women’s Health