Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with businesses on the potential impact of the rise of employer national insurance contributions on projects they fund or sponsor, by individual business since July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. To support growth, we want business to invest in R&D and innovation and regularly discuss with them how we can optimise the R&D system to ensure it is working effectively for businesses of all sizes that want to innovate and grow.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 28425 on Afghanistan: Resettlement, how many and what proportion of the total number of Afghans in the UK arrived via the Afghan Resettlement Programme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Afghan Resettlement Programme, announced by the Defence Secretary on 18 December 2024, is not in itself an immigration scheme, but a single delivery pipeline to improve efficiency in the end to end relocation and in-UK resettlement of those arriving on our Afghan schemes.
The latest published statistics for arrivals under the Afghan schemes can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6745f99683f3d6d843be975e/asylum-summary-sep-24-tables.ods.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the defence budget was allocated to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The exact annual operating budget for the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is not centrally calculated. However, the operation of both teams combined would account for less than 00.03% of the annual defence budget.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the defence budget was allocated to the Red Arrows in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The exact annual operating budget for the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is not centrally calculated. However, the operation of both teams combined would account for less than 00.03% of the annual defence budget.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with universities on the potential impact of the rise of employer national insurance contributions on projects they fund or sponsor; stratified by individual university since July 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions on tax, which is why this government is asking employers to contribute more. We strongly believe that this is the fairest choice to help fund the NHS and wider national priorities.
Higher education providers are independent of government and as such are responsible for managing their own budgets and business models. All providers must continue to adapt to uncertainties and financial risks.
This government is committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading higher education sector. The Office for Students' (OfS) refocusing on financial sustainability and the difficult decision we made to increase tuition fees demonstrate this ambition. We will set out a long-term plan for sector reform this summer.
The department continues to work closely with the OfS in order to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Arts and Humanities Research Council on the potential impact of the rise of employer national insurance contributions on projects they fund or sponsor since July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the sector to create a sustainable research and innovation environment and discussions are ongoing.
UKRI grants are costed on known costs at the time of application. Whilst we recognise there may be impacts for Research Organisations with the increase in employers National Insurance contributions, unfortunately, it is not feasible to respond to every adjusting economic circumstance.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Economic and Social Research Council on the potential impact of the rise of employer national insurance contributions on projects they fund or sponsor since July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the sector to create a sustainable research and innovation environment and discussions are ongoing.
UKRI grants are costed on known costs at the time of application. Whilst we recognise there may be impacts for Research Organisations with the increase in employers National Insurance contributions, unfortunately, it is not feasible to respond to every adjusting economic circumstance.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on the potential impact of the rise of employer national insurance contributions on projects they fund or sponsor since July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the sector to create a sustainable research and innovation environment and discussions are ongoing.
UKRI grants are costed on known costs at the time of application. Whilst we recognise there may be impacts for Research Organisations with the increase in employers National Insurance contributions, unfortunately, it is not feasible to respond to every adjusting economic circumstance.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council on the potential impact of the rise of employer national insurance contributions on projects they fund or sponsor since July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the sector to create a sustainable research and innovation environment and discussions are ongoing.
UKRI grants are costed on known costs at the time of application. Whilst we recognise there may be impacts for Research Organisations with the increase in employers National Insurance contributions, unfortunately, it is not feasible to respond to every adjusting economic circumstance.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Natural Environment Research Council on the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on projects they (a) fund and (b) sponsor.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the sector to create a sustainable research and innovation environment and discussions are ongoing.
UKRI grants are costed on known costs at the time of application. Whilst we recognise there may be impacts for Research Organisations with the increase in employers National Insurance contributions, unfortunately, it is not feasible to respond to every adjusting economic circumstance.