Employer National Insurance Contributions

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I will talk in particular about two organisations in my constituency that have contacted me about the subject we are debating. For context, we know that small businesses have had a tough time for a number of years. They have been struggling with rising prices, interest rates and input costs going up. They were absolutely hammered by the previous Conservative Government, who broke their promise to reform business rates, trapped them under a mountain of red tape and made it much harder and more expensive to trade internationally. Making things harder for small businesses and their workers just is not right. They are the lifeblood of our economy and are exactly where we should be looking for the growth we all need. When we are talking about small businesses, we are also talking about community pharmacies, hospices and GP practices, all of which will be impacted by this tax rise.

We on the Liberal Democrat Benches are particularly worried, as the House would imagine, about the impact of these tax rises on our health and social care sector. We are worried about what it means for social care providers, for the families who depend on them and for the local councils that have to find the funding for many of them. Raising the employment allowance will shield only the very smallest, leaving thousands of small organisations still negatively affected.

In the Chief Secretary’s opening remarks, he asked for ideas about where else he might find some tax revenue. I really encourage him, and indeed all Government Members, to reread the 2024 Lib Dem manifesto—I am sure they have read it at least once. As my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) laid out from our Front Bench, the Government could reverse the tax cuts that the previous Government gave to the big banks, reform capital gains tax so that it is applied in a much fairer way, and charge the gambling giants more so that they pay their fair share.

I turn to the two organisations in my constituency. A childcare company got in touch because, like many early years settings, it allocates 70% of its revenue to staff wages, and annual increases to the national living wage combined with the increase in NICs will make it impossible to pay for rent, staff improvement and training. That will just make the staffing crisis worse, which is the exact opposite of what the Government say they want.

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that businesses such as Sheppy’s cider farm in my constituency, to which I invite all Members to come to enjoy a pint of cider, will be affected not just by the national insurance rises but by the change in business rates and the family farm tax?

[Lisa Smart]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. Sadly, I have not yet tried the wares of Sheppy’s cider farm, but I would welcome the opportunity to visit, try those wares and support it as we all need to do in the face of these changes, which affect everyone.

The second organisation is one of my GP practices, which emailed me. It operates as a legal partnership, as it has done since the inception of the NHS, but as it is a GP practice it lacks flexibility to absorb the increased costs. It cannot raise prices and it cannot do more than it is already doing and drive up activity levels. As it is designated as a public authority but does not get an employment allowance exemption, it will bear the full cost of the impact. It tells me that the rise in national insurance and the lowering of the thresholds will force it into reductions in clinical staffing, adversely impact patient care and increase waiting times. That is exactly the opposite of what the Government say they want.

[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

The hon. Lady made that point powerfully. I have spoken to a GP surgery in my constituency that will have to cut seven members of staff, including a GP, a nurse, a social prescriber, a pharmacist and others providing ancillary services. These changes will affect not just her constituents and my constituents but every single constituency in the country, because every single GP practice will have the same problem.

[Lisa Smart]

I completely agree with the hon. Member’s point. All Members across the House want to see our NHS thrive and to see the healthcare and social care that our constituents deserve. I urge the Government to think again about their plans.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

In Harpenden and Berkhamsted we have the Elms medical practice, which has said it is dedicated to the NHS and wants to serve people but is facing these difficulties. It is asking the Government to rethink their choice on national insurance. This is about those who want to serve and our constituents who need them.

[Lisa Smart]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. We will all have had constituents and organisations contact us because they are really worried about the impact that these changes will have.

I do not think that the Government intentionally set out to make life more difficult for GPs, and I do not think that they intentionally set out with their Budget to make life more difficult for pharmacies, for hospices or for dental practices, but we need to speak up for constituents who contact us to say that if the Government want to keep the cost of childcare from rising and constituents to be able to access a GP appointment in a timely manner, they need to think again about this rise. I urge them to do so.

Financial Services: Mansion House Speech

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Tulip Siddiq]

I know that my hon. Friend takes a keen interest in this area—she been talking about it for the 25 years that I have known her. We agree that it is important. The FCA and the PRA are required to have regard to the UK’s net zero emissions target, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. The Mansion House speech set out the Government’s next steps to deliver a world-leading sustainable finance framework. That will be a huge part of our financial services strategy, as part of the industrial strategy, next spring. I urge her to consult and feed in on that.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I speak as a former trustee of a local authority pension fund. Much of the correspondence that I received from pension fund members was not about the returns that they received, but about the investments they were in but could not choose to come out of because it was a defined benefits scheme. I appreciate that the review is ongoing, but can the Minister confirm that any review will consider retaining the autonomy of local authorities in deciding not to invest—whether in companies, countries or sectors—for environmental, social and governance reasons?

[Tulip Siddiq]

The consultation is ongoing, but I repeat that each administering authority will retain control over impactful decisions by setting out investment objectives and strategic asset allocation, and they will have control over their pooled assets. The Minister for Pensions will be happy to meet the hon. Lady should she wish to discuss that further. As the hon. Lady said herself, the consultation is ongoing, so she may wish to wait until after it is complete.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

I championed this issue in the last Parliament as Chair of the Business and Trade Committee. I am pleased to confirm that I am working with colleagues across Government to make progress, and I will update the House further in due course.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

T6. Stories of crumbling public infrastructure are all too common. Stepping Hill hospital in Hazel Grove has had to close buildings because their condition was no longer deemed safe, and we have seen footage of medics having to wade through flooded corridors when pipes have burst. The allocated capital money simply cannot cover the repairs backlog. How will the Chancellor ensure that hospitals such as Stepping Hill can access the capital investment they need both to repair crumbling buildings and to deliver additional sites where needed?

[Darren Jones]

The Government are reviewing the new hospitals programme as part of our spending review. We will undertake a full and comprehensive review while continuing to deliver the most advanced and most urgent hospitals in a realistic timeframe.