National insurance rise brings plea from charities

The tax changes will raise £25bn.

The employment allowance – which allows companies to reduce their NI liability – will increase from £5,000 to £10,500.

Even with that employment allowance mitigation, some of the figures are eye-watering.

Mirus, which is a not-for-profit social care provider and employs 800 people, says a combination of NI and real living wage increase means they need to find an extra £1.6m next year.

Meanwhile, the mental health charity Platfform is facing an NI rise of £250,000, and St John Ambulance Cymru will see a £50,000 increase.

The UK umbrella body for charities has already called on the UK government to change its mind and reimburse voluntary organisations, as it is doing for those in the public sector.

Its Welsh counterpart, the WCVA, issued a statement on Wednesday calling on the Welsh government to increase the amount that voluntary organisations are paid for providing services to the public sector.

The WCVA has its eyes on the Welsh government’s own draft budget which will be published on 10 December.

Welsh ministers have an extra £1bn to spend in the 2025-26 fiscal year after the chancellor announced her spending plans last week.

But bringing down NHS waiting lists is the Welsh government’s number one priority and councils are facing a £500m shortfall – it is easy to see how that extra money will start to get eaten up.