Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people previously diagnosed with (a) Down Syndrome and (b) other severe learning difficulties will be required to undergo a further assessment when their (i) personal independence payment and (ii) employment support allowance are migrated to universal credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People claiming Employment Support Allowance are being migrated to Universal Credit, but anyone on Personal Independence Payment will remain on it. Customers who move to UC following the receipt of a migration notice from ESA have their LCW or LCWRA moved with them to UC.
So, for the vast majority of cases there is no need for a new WCA.
The Work Capability Assessment is a functional assessment that applies to both UC & Employment and Support Allowance. Receipt of other benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) do not provide an automatic passport to LCW or LCWRA as the assessment criteria are different. Therefore, customers in receipt of PIP only, may be referred for a WCA if they declare a health condition when making their claim to Universal Credit.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes made to employer's National Insurance contributions at the Autumn Budget 2024 on the (a) staffing levels of and (b) level of (i) economic and (ii) social contributions to charities; and if she will make it her policy to exempt the charitable sector from these changes.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to support public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance contributions (NICs).
HMRC published on 13 November a Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the impact of the changes on charities as employers.
The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities 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 NICs. All charities are eligible for the Employment Allowance, even if they are wholly or mainly carrying out functions of a public nature.
More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023-24.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations she has received (a) directly and (b) via other Departments from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Transport Operators Group on the potential inclusion of (i) drivers and (ii) passenger assistants in any (A) grant and (B) compensation scheme to offset the impact of changes in employer national insurance contributions; and if she will include this cohort in any such scheme.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) costs only. This funding will be allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way. This is the usual approach the Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional employer NICs costs, as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central/local government. For private sector organisations that contract with local or central government, the impact of tax changes would be taken into account along with all other changes to their cost base in the usual way through contract negotiations.
The definition of who is in scope as a public sector employee is based on Office of National Statistics classification of the entity paying employer NICs. This applies to employees who are directly employed by the public sector, but not, for example, where services are contracted out. The public sector comprises central government, local government and public corporations.