2 years ago
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Sajid Javid has defended the hike to National Insurance, saying it was a choice between taxing or borrowing.
The rise on Wednesday is designed to pay for the post-pandemic NHS backlog and social care.
The plan has been criticised for hitting working people, especially during a cost of living crisis.
But the health secretary told BBC Breakfast it would "morally wrong" to expect future generations to pay for the funding that is needed now.
"The choice for us as a country is we either put that money in ourselves now, and if we don't do it ourselves, we will have to borrow it," he said.
"And that is mortgaging the future of our children and our grandchildren."
Mr Javid added: "Why should our children pay for our healthcare and our adult social care? They are going to have enough challenges as they grow older."
English (US)