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A petition against rises in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) from a trade association has been postponed due to political uncertainty, with the group citing worries over the “distinct possibility” of a leadership challenge in the Conservative Party and a possible second general election.
The Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII) said in a statement this afternoon that it has pushed back the launch of a second petition against the hikes until the organisation feels “confident in the longevity of Government.”
A first petition from the group, which represents more than 125 insurer and intermediary firms in the health and wellbeing sector, was brought to an early close due to the dissolution of Parliament in preparation for the general election, which meant that all votes cast by members were lost.
The AMII’s chairman Stuart Scullion said today that the body’s executive committee had taken some time to reflect upon the relaunch of the IPT petition.
“Since Parliament was dissolved, we have consulted with political commentators to establish how they see the political landscape evolving. This is significant, because if we were to begin a second petition now, we would have a period of six months from launch to achieve the 100,000 signatures required to see IPT debated in Parliament,” he commented.
The AMII would not be able to re-commence a second petition until Parliament has re-established the Parliamentary Committee which oversees and approves government petitions, Scullion explained.
“However, having also consulted with our Intermediary and Corporate Members, as well as Intermediaries and Providers who are not currently AMII members, the consensus is that there is too much political uncertainty,” he said.
“The AMII Executive Committee has subsequently decided to defer the launch of any second IPT Petition until we are more confident in the longevity of Government, particularly as there is a distinct possibility of a leadership challenge in the Conservative Party after the summer recess, with a possible second general election likely within the six-month period.
“In the meantime, we will continue to lobby the Government and interested industry parties on the negative impact of increasing IPT on both the NHS and private sectors,” he commented. “We consider the IPT Petition to be an industry-wide issue - AMII is merely the representative of all stakeholders who are affected, including, and not least, the consumer.”
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