Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities Debate
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Sarah Dyke
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Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities
Sarah Dyke Excerpts(2 days, 20 hours ago)
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Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the impact of changes to employers’ National Insurance contributions on the charity sector.
The background to this debate is the October Budget presented by the Government, and in particular the rise in national insurance contributions for employers. The rate was raised to 15% and the threshold at which national insurance contributions apply was brought down from £9,100 to £5,000, bringing in some part-time workers who previously had not caused their employers to be subject to national insurance contributions. Much has been said about the impact of the rise on the economy, but less has been said about the impact on charities.
Charities deliver almost £17 billion-worth of public services a year. Public services and civil society could not operate without charities. There is a tendency to overlook the important work they do. Particularly at the level of local government, charities are responsible through contracting for the delivery of a lot of the services that local governments are required to deliver.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. The Balsam Centre is a charity in Wincanton in my constituency that delivers some of the vital services that the hon. Member talks about, including maternal mental health support and youth counselling. The NI changes mean that it will have to find an extra £40,000 for its salary costs next year, cancel any pay increases and operate at a reduced capacity from April. Its work relieves pressure on the NHS and on local government, so does the hon. Member agree that the Government must rethink the national insurance changes?
Joe Robertson
I of course agree with the hon. Member that the Government must rethink the changes. I will go on to use examples from my own constituency, and I thank her for doing so with hers.