Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Bennett Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I, too, have heard the kinds of stories that the hon. Gentleman has articulated—there are definitely concerns in that regard. Broadly, the Government’s regulation agenda is not necessarily about deregulation, but about effective and proportionate regulation. I feel that our regulatory sector has grown a lot in recent years, and that it does not always compare well to those of other countries in terms of timeliness and business response. That is the agenda we are pursuing, but I will certainly write to the hon. Gentleman about the issues he has raised, which are very relevant. I appreciate the opportunity to do so and thank him for raising them today.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

Many families are supported by the work of my constituents, Alison and Kevin, who run a small care business. They tell me that they already operate on tight margins in a sector under huge pressure. The hike in employer national insurance contributions will force them to make tough decisions on staffing and simply reduce the amount of care they can offer. Kevin and Alison rightly say that this hike makes no sense at a time when the Government tell us that they want to move to community care provision and get people out of hospitals. Does the Secretary of State not agree?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I thank the hon. Member for her question, and I thank Alison and Kevin for their important work. We already talked about the difficult choices that the Government faced and the unenviable choices that had to be made. Health and social care was a beneficiary of the additional revenue that needed to be raised to meet some of the challenges we face, but we are not casual about the impact of that, and we recognise the pressures that come from that. I would say that I do not agree. Taxes have to apply to every sector, and we cannot carve out certain sectors. However, I appreciate the pressures that she articulates. That is why the rest of the Government’s agenda is set to address all those factors.