National Insurance: Charity Sector

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I think we need not to talk ourselves into a corner on this, where we assume that things are going to be as dire as they might be. In response to the question put to my noble friend Lady Taylor, who is here today, let me say that we would not have made the choice unless we had to, but there is a need to protect small businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the employment allowance to £10,500 and extended it to all eligible employers. The OBR expects about 250,000 employers to gain from the changes and a considerable number to see no change at all, so more than half of all businesses, including charities, will not see the rise that the noble Lord suggests will happen.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, having worked with the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux some years ago, I am very conscious that most bureaux operate on an absolute shoestring. Will the Government consider exempting these small bureaux and other small charitable organisations from the national insurance rise? Many of them simply will not be able to deal with it and they will go out of business.

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I hope it is reassuring to the noble Baroness that the smallest charities and organisations should not see a rise in their national insurance contributions. If she has examples of citizens advice bureaux where they think this is not the case, I ask her to let me know. I am hugely aware of and in awe of the work that the citizens advice bureaux do in supporting some of our most vulnerable citizens.