Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.41 of the Autumn Budget, published on 24 October 2024, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the increase in the employment allowance in each year of the forecast period.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.
The estimated cost of the increase to the Employment Allowance is set out in the table below:
(£m) | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 |
Cost of increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500 | 3,730 | 3,555 | 3,570 | 3,600 | 3,630 |
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to support those asked to pay large interest payments on pension contributions as a result of the McCloud judgement.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The purpose of the McCloud remedy is to ensure affected public service pension scheme members are put back into the same position they would have been if the discrimination identified by the Court of Appeal in 2018 had not occurred. It is therefore necessary to apply interest to payments to members or the scheme that would otherwise have been made at an earlier time. Members who need to pay a contribution adjustment can choose whether to make payment after receiving their Remediable Saving Statement or to defer until their retirement. Scheme managers also have scope to support members, for example by allowing payments to be spread over time.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the merits of the application of the Barnett formula in Wales, in the context of HS2 spending.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula is simple, efficient and provides a clear and certain outcome. This is why it has stood the test of time.
The result of Barnett formula is that the Welsh Government is receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26.
HS2 is a heavy rail programme. The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales, so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
The Government remains committed to heavy rail schemes in Wales, by providing funding for both operations, maintenance and infrastructure, and enhancement schemes such as modernising Cardiff Central Station.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Speaker's Statement of 28 October 2024, Official Report, column 531, whether she has made an assessment of the compatibility of those fiscal policy announcements with paragraph 9.1 of the Ministerial Code.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The announcement on the changes made to the debt fiscal rules was made in the Budget statement on 30th October.Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the compliance of the announcement of the new debt rules to the media first with section 9.1 of the Ministerial code.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The announcement on the changes made to the debt fiscal rules was made in the Budget statement on 30th October.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department’s definition of a working person is for the purposes of policy development.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A working person is someone who goes out to work and works for their income. The government has committed to not increase taxes on working people, protecting their payslips against higher taxes. This means no increase in the basic, higher or additional rates of Income Tax, Employee National Insurance contributions or VAT.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of how much businesses in the social care sector will pay as a result of the increase in employers National Insurance contributions (a) nationally and (b) in each constituency.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the Employer National Insurance changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance costs. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.
This is the usual approach Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional Employer National Insurance contributions as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
The government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care and wider local government spending as part of the Budget process in the usual way.
The government is providing a real-terms increase in core local government spending power of around 3.2% in 2025-26, including at least £600m of new grant funding provided to social care, which can be used to address the range of pressures facing the sector.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the number of businesses in the social care sector that will pay the increase in employers National Insurance contributions (a) nationally and (b) in each constituency.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the Employer National Insurance changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance costs. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.
This is the usual approach Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional Employer National Insurance contributions as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
The government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care and wider local government spending as part of the Budget process in the usual way.
The government is providing a real-terms increase in core local government spending power of around 3.2% in 2025-26, including at least £600m of new grant funding provided to social care, which can be used to address the range of pressures facing the sector.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) overall cost to businesses in the social care sector of the increase in employers National Insurance contributions and (b) average cost to each business in this sector.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the Employer National Insurance changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance costs. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.
This is the usual approach Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional Employer National Insurance contributions as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
The government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care and wider local government spending as part of the Budget process in the usual way.
The government is providing a real-terms increase in core local government spending power of around 3.2% in 2025-26, including at least £600m of new grant funding provided to social care, which can be used to address the range of pressures facing the sector.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of social care providers affected by the increase in employers National Insurance contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the Employer National Insurance changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance costs. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.
This is the usual approach Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional Employer National Insurance contributions as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
The government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care and wider local government spending as part of the Budget process in the usual way.
The government is providing a real-terms increase in core local government spending power of around 3.2% in 2025-26, including at least £600m of new grant funding provided to social care, which can be used to address the range of pressures facing the sector.