Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that requirements on agencies to offer guaranteed hours contracts do not reduce flexibility; and if he will consider reforms to allow such contracts to be requested by workers on the basis of hours worked with their agency.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government believes agency workers should be able to access a contract which reflects the hours they regularly work. Agency workers who prefer a more flexible arrangement can reject any guaranteed hours offer.
It will generally be hirers’ responsibility to offer guaranteed hours to qualifying agency workers, but regulations will be able to transfer the obligation on agencies or other intermediaries in certain scenarios. We will consult to ensure the measures work for agencies, hirers and agency workers.
We believe it could create undesirable barriers for agency workers to access guaranteed hours if they had to request guaranteed hours offers.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Autumn Budget 2025 incentivises businesses to invest in (a) job creation and (b) workforce development.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Economic growth is the central mission of this government, and we recognise that sustainable growth can only be achieved in partnership with businesses and other stakeholders.
We are providing long-term stability through clear fiscal rules that give firms the confidence to hire and expand. Through the National Wealth Fund, we are unlocking over £70 billion in private investment and creating jobs across key sectors. We are also advancing structural reforms to drive business-led job creation, including a new modern Industrial Strategy, agreeing new trade deals, reforming the UK planning system, and have launched the Backing Your Business plan, which delivers targeted support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
To support workforce development, we are transforming the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy, enabling employers to fund a wider range of high-quality training, including shorter and foundation apprenticeships and short courses under the Industrial Strategy. Employers are also supported through an NIC exemption for apprentices under 25.
However, we cannot comment in advance on Budget measures.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential cumulative impact of (a) National Insurance contributions and (b) the Employment Rights Act on overall hiring costs for UK businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy, including on businesses. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
As set out in the government’s published impact assessments for the Employment Rights Bill, there are a range of channels through which the measures in the Bill could benefit the economy, as well as potential offsetting effects. Final impacts will depend on further policy decisions that are for secondary legislation.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of National Insurance contributions on small and medium-sized businesses ability to hire new staff.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy, including on businesses. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
The OBR forecast, which accounts for the impacts of employer NICs on the economy, expects that the unemployment rate will fall to 4.1% by the end of 2027 and remaining at that rate for the rest of the forecast.
After accounting for impacts of employer NICs, the OBR still expect the employment level to increase from 33.6m in 2024 to 34.8m in 2029.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has issued guidance to prison officers on ensuring political neutrality.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
All civil servants are contractually bound by the Civil Service Code to serve the Government of the day. In HMPPS, this is reinforced through the Outside Activities Policy and the Conduct and Discipline Policy. These require employees to remain politically neutral at all times and to avoid political activity on duty, in uniform or on official premises. Employees are signposted to guidance on conduct for civil servants at each election period and during party conference season to ensure clear expectations of behaviour.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department issues to ensure prison officers follow the civil service code.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The requirement to adhere to the Civil Service Code is set out in all HMPPS employee's employment contracts. In HMPPS, these standards are reinforced through the Outside Activities and the Conduct and Discipline policies, which set behavioural expectations and how any breaches are handled.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will set out whether all grades of prison officers are required to be politically neutral.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
All employees are bound by the Civil Service Code and must serve the Government impartially. The HMPPS Outside Activities Policy requires all employees, including all grades of Prison Officer, to remain politically neutral at all times and they must seek permission to take part in political activities if needed. Employees must not carry out any political activity while on duty, in uniform or on official premises.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children with SEND moving from the independent to state school sector; and what proportion this represents of the overall amount of people moving from the independent to state sectors.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The latest school census data from January 2025 shows private school pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over 20 years. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with the International Monetary Fund on the impact of the rising cost of bond yields.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not comment on specific market moves.
As the Governor of the Bank of England recently noted, the underlying driver of recent moves in yield curves is global. This means it is more important than ever to have fiscal rules that provide stability.
Sound public finances are essential to economic and financial stability, and delivering economic growth. That is why at the Budget we will continue to meet this government’s non-negotiable fiscal rules, building on the decisions we took at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spring Statement 2025.
This is the responsible choice – to live within our means, reduce our levels of borrowing in the years ahead and support the Bank of England to get inflation down, so we can deliver on the priorities of working people and spend less on servicing debt.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of borrowing costs on mortgages.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Government borrowing costs are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary, especially in the context of wider movements in global financial markets.
The pricing of mortgages, which is influenced by a number of factors, is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.
Headline average mortgage rates are materially lower than the recent peaks seen in Summer 2023 and Autumn 2022.