Business Hiring Intentions

Lord Fox Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I say in the nicest possible way to the noble Lord and to noble Lords opposite that supporting business enterprise means combining a hard head with a soft heart. The Employment Rights Act strengthens provisions, protections and security for working people, but legislation can only set minimum standards. The law establishes the floor; good businesses should compete to raise the ceiling. No Act of Parliament can make an employer care about their staff. That comes from leadership, values and culture. In my experience, looking after your people is fundamental to business success. We respect the OBR’s independent judgment. It expects a negative economic impact, as the noble Lord has said, but finds no clear evidence that it would exceed 0.1% of potential output, so it has made no explicit forecast adjustment.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, as the Minister is talking about hard edges to business, it is two years since the then Chancellor made a surprise increase in national insurance contributions for UK businesses. Can the Minister tell us how many more jobs there would have been if this had not been brought in? How many SMEs have gone to the wall as a result of this, tipping them over the edge, and how much investment has been deferred because of this measure?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I recognise the pressures on employers. We took the difficult decision to stabilise the public finances and fund essential services, while increasing employment allowance to £10,500 to protect smaller businesses. We are also supporting recruitment through the youth jobs grant of up to £3,000 and apprenticeship hiring payments of £2,000. Our aim is to help businesses create opportunities and give young people the skills and experience to build lasting careers.