National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Consideration of Lords amendments
Wednesday 19th March 2025 Commons Chamber

Consideration of Lords amendments

[Mr Speaker]

I can confirm that Lords amendments 1 to 20 engage Commons financial privilege. Having given careful consideration to Lords amendment 20, I am satisfied that it would impose a charge on the public revenue that is not authorised by the money resolution passed by this House on 3 December 2024. In accordance with Standing Order No. 78(3), that Lords amendment will therefore be deemed to be disagreed to and is not available for debate.

Lords amendment 20 deemed to be disagreed to (Standing Order No. 78(3)).

Clause 1

Rate of secondary Class 1 contributions

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1.

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to consider Lords amendments 2 to 19 and 21, and Government motions to disagree.

[James Murray]

I welcome the opportunity to consider the Lords amendment to the Bill. I thank Members of both Houses for their careful scrutiny and consideration of the Bill, and I place on record particular thanks to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore, for his invaluable support and for so expertly leading the Bill through the other place.

During consideration of the Bill in the other place, 21 amendments were made, 20 of which we will address today, but before I do so directly, let me remind both Houses of the context for the Bill. When we entered government, we inherited a fiscal situation that was completely unsustainable. We have had to take difficult but necessary decisions to repair the public finances and rebuild our public services. The measures in the Bill represent some of the toughest decisions that we have had to take as a result. To restore fiscal responsibility and get public services back on their feet, we needed to raise revenue, including through the measures that the Bill will introduce. Many of the amendments from the other place put at risk the funding that the Bill seeks to raise, so let me be absolutely clear: to support the amendments is also to support higher borrowing, lower spending or other tax rises. With that in mind, I now turn to the first group of Lords amendments.