BORIS Johnson's new £12 billion a year tax raid to address the funding crisis in health and social care has been labelled "deeply unfair" by one south Cumbrian MP.

The Prime Minister insisted the new health and social care levy, based on a 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance contributions, was “the reasonable and the fair approach”.

Downing Street said that a typical basic rate taxpayer earning £24,100 would pay £180 a year, while a higher rate taxpayer on £67,100 would pay £715 as a result of the new tax.

As well as providing extra funding for the NHS to deal with the backlog of cases built up during the Covid-19 pandemic, the new package of £36 billion over three year will also reform the way adult social care in England is funded.

A new cap of £86,000 on lifetime care costs from October 2023 will protect people from the “catastrophic fear of losing everything”.

South Lakes MP Tim Farron said: “A plan to properly fund social care in this country has been long overdue.

“However the Government’s decision to do that off the back of the poorest in our society is deeply unfair.

“Rather than hiking National Insurance Contributions which will disproportionately hit young people and those on low incomes, they should instead looking at raising that money through income tax.

“This would provide a much fairer way to raise the funds to provide dignity, security and high quality care for our loved ones and to pay our amazing social care staff a decent wage.”

COMMENTS: Simon Fell (left) and Tim Farron

COMMENTS: Simon Fell (left) and Tim Farron

The Government will fully cover the cost of care for those with assets under £20,000, and contribute to the cost of care for those with assets between £20,000 and £100,000.

Currently anyone with assets worth more than £23,250 has to fund their care in full.

Mr Johnson entered Downing Street in 2019 claiming he had a clear plan to fix the social care crisis and the manifesto which helped secure his landslide election win later that year promised not to raise National Insurance.

Admitting that pledge had been scrapped, Mr Johnson said: “No Conservative government ever wants to raise taxes and I will be honest with the House, yes, I accept that this breaks a manifesto commitment, which is not something I do lightly."

Simon Fell, MP for Barrow, said: "It's clear that we have a crisis in social care that dates back decades - the pandemic has just exposed it further.

"I think the government is right to take action on this and move quickly to do so. We need a system that gives people certainty over their futures should the worst happen, and that is funded fairly across generations.

"Raising taxes should always be done with caution, but this pandemic has shown why action now is so crucial. I'll be looking closely at these proposals overnight and listening to constituents' views."