Asked by: Katie Lam (Conservative - Weald of Kent)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with which businesses in Kent his Department held discussions on the Employment Rights Bill prior to its introduction.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since August 2024, the Department for Business and Trade has held discussions on the Employment Rights Bill with over 180 stakeholders from across Great Britain. This covers a range of businesses that have a presence in Kent, including Greene King, McDonalds, John Lewis, British Telecom, Co-op, DHL, MACE Group, Mars, Sainsburys, Whitbread, Burger King, Deliveroo, Fuller’s, Lucky Saint, Turtle Bay, Centrica, and Wilkinson Construction Consultant.
The Government remains committed to working in partnership with businesses, trade unions and other stakeholders to deliver the Plan to Make Work Pay.
Asked by: Katie Lam (Conservative - Weald of Kent)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on tourism businesses in (i) Kent and (ii) the Weald of Kent.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government protected small businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, and 865,000 employers will pay no NICs in 2025-26. My Department published an Impact Assessment for the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, which includes a breakdown of the expected impacts by sector and region.
We recognise the importance of manufacturing and the tourism sector to local economies such as Kent and the Weald of Kent, where many businesses (particularly SMEs) are sensitive to changes in employment costs. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) continues to work closely with industry stakeholders and across departments to monitor the health of the visitor economy and to ensure that tourism voices are reflected in wider policy discussions.
Asked by: Katie Lam (Conservative - Weald of Kent)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing employer National Insurance Contributions and the National Minimum Wage on manufacturing businesses in (a) Kent and (b) the Weald of Kent.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government protected small businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, and 865,000 employers will pay no NICs in 2025-26. My Department published an Impact Assessment for the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, which includes a breakdown of the expected impacts by sector and region.
We recognise the importance of manufacturing and the tourism sector to local economies such as Kent and the Weald of Kent, where many businesses (particularly SMEs) are sensitive to changes in employment costs. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) continues to work closely with industry stakeholders and across departments to monitor the health of the visitor economy and to ensure that tourism voices are reflected in wider policy discussions.