“At Nugent, it is our desire to work with the Government to get Britain back on its feet and to protect our nation’s vital services – as the Prime Minister said, “all pulling in the same direction”.

“However, I had hoped for more to be laid out in his ‘Plan for Change’ by way of a sustainable, impactful plan to protect the social care and charity sectors.

“Nugent is a Real Living Wage employer to 440 staff, the additional financial pressure of increased employer National Insurance as laid out in the Autumn Budget, in addition to the RLW uplift, is troubling and risks the essential services that we deliver to people across the North West.

“The drop in the secondary threshold means that previously exempt part-time workers at our charity are now in the catchment for us to pay employer national insurance; in total the increase in ENI for all eligible staff will cost us as a charity an additional £500,000 per year on top of the already confirmed annual cost of the Real Living Wage salary increases.

“I have concerns that despite the Government “doubling down” on various milestones, there will still be increased demand on local authorities and burdens on the NHS and carers if further measures to support the charity sector aren’t brought in soon.”