Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the value of the National Insurance contributions grant for schools, and when will that grant be paid.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department is providing mainstream schools and high needs settings with over £930 million to support them with the increases to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from April 2025. Payments will be made to local authorities in September 2025 and to academies in October 2025.
The NICs funding will be rolled into the schools national funding formula (NFF) from the 2026/27 financial year to ensure this funding remains a protected part of school budgets.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the National Insurance contributions grant for schools is included in spending and allocations for schools in the future years of the Spending Review 2025 (CP1336).
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department is providing mainstream schools and high needs settings with over £930 million to support them with the increases to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from April 2025. Payments will be made to local authorities in September 2025 and to academies in October 2025.
The NICs funding will be rolled into the schools national funding formula (NFF) from the 2026/27 financial year to ensure this funding remains a protected part of school budgets.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the National Insurance contributions grant for schools will be paid in each year of the Spending Review 2025 (CP1336).
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department is providing mainstream schools and high needs settings with over £930 million to support them with the increases to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from April 2025. Payments will be made to local authorities in September 2025 and to academies in October 2025.
The NICs funding will be rolled into the schools national funding formula (NFF) from the 2026/27 financial year to ensure this funding remains a protected part of school budgets.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of eligible businesses have reclaimed statutory paternity pay in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A breakdown of total reclaims for the financial years 2019–20 to 2023–24 is available below. However, data for 2024–25 has not yet been analysed as the tax year has only recently ended.
Further breakdowns of information by size of business are not currently available from published statistics, and collating and verifying the relevant data solely for the purpose of answering this question would incur disproportionate cost.
Date | Sum Recoveries | Count Recoveries |
19/20 | £50,300,000 | 55,100 |
20/21 | £43,800,000 | 44,200 |
21/22 | £52,400,000 | 53,600 |
22/23 | £52,600,000 | 54,600 |
23/24 | £61,500,000 | 56,200 |
Notes:
1) Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in December 2024. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
2) Sum recoveries rounded to nearest £100,000.
3) Count of recoveries rounded to nearest 100.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much statutory paternity pay was reclaimed by businesses in each of the past five years, broken down by size of business.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A breakdown of total reclaims for the financial years 2019–20 to 2023–24 is available below. However, data for 2024–25 has not yet been analysed as the tax year has only recently ended.
Further breakdowns of information by size of business are not currently available from published statistics, and collating and verifying the relevant data solely for the purpose of answering this question would incur disproportionate cost.
Date | Sum Recoveries | Count Recoveries |
19/20 | £50,300,000 | 55,100 |
20/21 | £43,800,000 | 44,200 |
21/22 | £52,400,000 | 53,600 |
22/23 | £52,600,000 | 54,600 |
23/24 | £61,500,000 | 56,200 |
Notes:
1) Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in December 2024. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
2) Sum recoveries rounded to nearest £100,000.
3) Count of recoveries rounded to nearest 100.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many reclaims for statutory paternity pay there have been in each of the past five years, broken down by size of business.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A breakdown of total reclaims for the financial years 2019–20 to 2023–24 is available below. However, data for 2024–25 has not yet been analysed as the tax year has only recently ended.
Further breakdowns of information by size of business are not currently available from published statistics, and collating and verifying the relevant data solely for the purpose of answering this question would incur disproportionate cost.
Date | Sum Recoveries | Count Recoveries |
19/20 | £50,300,000 | 55,100 |
20/21 | £43,800,000 | 44,200 |
21/22 | £52,400,000 | 53,600 |
22/23 | £52,600,000 | 54,600 |
23/24 | £61,500,000 | 56,200 |
Notes:
1) Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in December 2024. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
2) Sum recoveries rounded to nearest £100,000.
3) Count of recoveries rounded to nearest 100.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 14 April (HL6369), whether the static microsimulation model used in their impact assessment provided an estimate for how many of the additional 250,000 people moved into relative poverty by their welfare changes will already be in work, regardless of the funding to support those not in work into employment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made on this basis.
The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our plans are designed to protect the most vulnerable and give disabled people equal chances and choices to work.
We will continue to carefully consider the impacts of reforms as we develop our detailed proposals for change.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 21 May (HL7259), when they last made an estimate of the cost of making Statutory Paternity Pay applicable from the first day of employment, and what that estimate was.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government has not made an estimate of the cost of making Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay available to the self-employed or of making Statutory Paternity Pay available from the first day of employment. This Government has committed to a review of the parental leave system to ensure that it best supports all working families. We will publish cost estimates of any policy options being taken forward following the Review.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of making statutory paternity leave and pay available to the self-employed.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government has not made an estimate of the cost of making Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay available to the self-employed or of making Statutory Paternity Pay available from the first day of employment. This Government has committed to a review of the parental leave system to ensure that it best supports all working families. We will publish cost estimates of any policy options being taken forward following the Review.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of making statutory paternity pay applicable from the first day of employment.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has not made a recent estimate of the cost of making Statutory Paternity Pay available from the first day of employment.
However, we have committed to a review of the parental leave system as a whole to ensure that it best supports all working families. Planning work is already underway.