UK’s new chancellor must reverse National Insurance rise for charities

Headway UK has written to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, calling for a reversal of the increase in National Insurance contributions paid by employers (introduced from April 2025). That change has placed additional unfair and unnecessary financial pressure on independent local Headway charities, which provide vital support to brain injury survivors.

In the letter sent this week, Headway UK Chief Executive Luke Griggs warned that local Headway charities are facing unrelenting financial pressures. In the past three years, seven have already closed with many others being forced to reduce services or at risk of closure.

The changes introduced in April 2025, which increased the employer National Insurance rate from 13.8% to 15% and reduced the Secondary Threshold from £9,100 to £5,000, have added significant costs to organisations already struggling with funding shortfalls and the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

The National Insurance changes have diverted money away from the frontline support, rehabilitation and care services that help brain injury survivors rebuild their lives and maintain their independence.

Our letter urges the Chancellor to use the upcoming Autumn Statement to reverse the National Insurance increase and provide greater support for charities delivering essential community-based rehabilitation services.

Headway UK Chief Executive Luke Griggs said:

“The need for charities to continually do more with less may not be new, but the in the past few years the pressure has been unrelenting.

“Brain injury survivors and families rely on the high-quality support provided by local Headway charities across the UK, and it is heartbreaking to see so many struggling in the face of continued cost increases.

“The new government is rightly tackling the cost-of-living with a targeted approach, but more must be done to reduce rising costs that are having such an impact on the charity sector.

“I urge the Chancellor to act immediately and take this chance to protect these vital services before more charities are forced to close their doors.

“Reversing the rise in employer National Insurance contributions will not solve every challenge facing the sector, but it would provide much-needed relief at a time when charities are already struggling, and when the Government’s long-promised Acquired Brain Injury Action Plan remains unpublished and unfinanced.

We will continue to press the Government to invest in community-based rehabilitation services and support the vital role local Headway charities play in improving the lives of those affected by brain injury.