A COUNTY charity has written to the Prime Minister to tell him that the Treasury's decision to increase employers' National Insurance contributions will result in an "increase in suffering for families".

Leuchie House, near North Berwick, provides respite care to people with a range of neurological conditions and their families.

Its CEO, Mark Bevan, has written to Sir Keir Starmer to raise concerns following the recent Budget announcement.

In the letter, Mr Bevan said: "The impact of your Chancellor’s budget is the introduction of an unfunded cost increase of £100,000 for the charity.

"This will lead to a reduction in charity support and an increase in suffering for families.

"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."

Mr Bevan later said: "Leuchie provides specialist health, care and support which families with degenerative neurological conditions can’t get anywhere else in the country.

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"The unintended consequence of the NI increase is the equivalent of adding a 13th month onto Leuchie’s wage bill.

"No one benefits from increasing the cost of essential health and care services, and I call on the UK Government to consider the implications of this proposal."

Meanwhile, East Lothian MSP Paul McLennan has called on the UK Government to cover the cost of the National Insurance contributions increase for public service providers.

The Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland has warned that the impact could be "catastrophic" for its members.

Mr McLennan said that "huge estimated cost increases" could be faced by as many as 136 charities and 15 GP practices in East Lothian.

He said: "The UK Government's move to increase employer National Insurance contributions is leading to a series of unintended consequences, creating widespread alarm across Scotland.

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"It is deeply concerning that the Chancellor's decision could jeopardise key public service providers in East Lothian, potentially leading to serious repercussions felt across our county.

“Care homes are warning the rise could force them to either cut back on services or pass the extra costs onto residents. Charities are also facing the reality of having to scale back services to meet the cost.

"And GPs practices in East Lothian could be forced to closed due to the hike."

The MSP added: "The UK Budget must not be balanced on the backs of Scotland’s third and voluntary sectors, or key health and social care providers.

"I implore the Chancellor to reconsider the unintended consequences she clearly did not foresee.

"There is still time for the UK Government to do the right thing and address the potentially devastating impacts for frontline services by meeting these costs in full."

A spokesperson for HM Treasury previously said that its tax regime for charities, including exemption from paying business rates, was "among the most generous of anywhere in the world".

"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," they said.

"Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including where eligible and are still exempt from business rates."