FOI Request - NICS, Council Tax and Social Care
Request 101003815314
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act regarding the financial management of social care services. Specifically, I would like to inquire about the following:
1. The formula used to calculate the increase that factored in the National Insurance Contributions (NICS).
2. The percentage of council tax allocated towards adult social care. Did the council apply the maximum threshold allowed for this allocation? If not, could you please provide the reason for not doing so?
3. The current reserves held by the council.
4. The inflation rates for the following areas of care, and the resulting hourly/weekly/daily rates:
a) Older People Residential
b) Older People Nursing
c) Older People Residential EMI (Elderly Mentally Infirm)
d) Older People Nursing EMI (Elderly Mentally Infirm)
e) Working Age Adults Residential
f) Working Age Adults Nursing
g) Working Age Adults Nursing EMI
h) Supported Living Day Support
i) Supported Living Night Support
j) Out of Area Dom Care
k) Home Care
l) Extra Care
m) Day Services
n) Direct Payments
Response 28-07-2025
1. From April 2025, the employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) increased as follows:
- Rate increase: The employer NIC rate has risen by 1.2%, going from 13.8% to 15%
- Threshold change: The secondary threshold—the point at which employers start paying NICs on employee earnings—has been lowered from £9,100 to £5,000 per year
Using X143 as an example Microsoft Excel cell reference for an Employee’s salary, our formula used to calculate Employer NICs in 2024/25 was:
=ROUND(IF(X143,=9100,0,IF(X143>9100,((X143-9100)*13.8%))),0)
Our formula used to calculate Employer NICs in 2025/26 is:
=ROUND(IF(X143,=5000,0,IF(X143>5000,((X143-5000)*15%))),0)
The difference between the two is the increase that was factored into 2025/26.
2. As per the Moray Council Tax leaflet for the financial year 2025/26, 29% of the Council’s approved net budget was allocated to Social Care services, which includes Children’s Services. This equates to £84.492 million out of a total net expenditure budget of £294.197 million.
The total funding of £294.197 million comprised: £236.877 million from the Scottish Government Grant and £57.320 million from Council Tax income (19.48%)
3. Per the unaudited accounts for the Moray Council 2024/25, the usable reserves of the Council (including Housing Revenue Account) at 31 March 2025 is £41.953m (Microsoft Word - 24-25 A DRAFT UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS DOCUMENT , to be found here: http://www.moray.gov.uk/downloads/file162535.pdf
page 45)
4. The only increase is for the Real Living Wage to £12.60 as per Scottish Government guidance. This details increases as follows:
This equates to contract uplifts of:
• Residential Care 3.59%
• Non-Residential Care 4.35%
• SDS Option 1 4.50%
The National Care home contract is also as per Scottish Government with rates set as:
• Nursing Care rate per person per week £1,013.05
• Residential care rate per person per week £881.98