Boris Johnson and senior ministers have agreed to increase national insurance to fund long-term reform of social care and reduce NHS waiting lists, The Times has been told.
The prime minister is expected to announce plans to increase payments by 1 percentage point — a penny in the pound — for both employers and employees in a move that will raise £10 billion a year.
The new health and social care tax will initially be used to address the NHS backlog following the pandemic. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has raised concerns that the waiting list could rise from 5.3 million to 13 million.
Later the fund will be used to cap care costs. Johnson is understood to favour plans by Sir Andrew Dilnot, a
