Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the rise in Employer's National Insurance Contributions on businesses hiring women and young people.

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 on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) in March 2026, which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. The OBR expect that employment levels will rise in every year of the forecast, reaching 35.3m in 2030-31.

The Government is committed to supporting young people to earn and learn. That is why we have recently announced that we will offer a guaranteed job to young people on Universal Credit, who are unemployed for over 18 months. This will provide an opportunity for young people to gain essential skills and experience and prevent the damaging effects of long-term unemployment. This initiative forms a key part of the Government’s Youth Guarantee and will build upon existing employment support and sector-based work academies (SWAPs) currently being delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Employers can claim a number of employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices. This means employers will pay no employer NICs for apprentices under 25 or employees under 21 on earnings up to £50,270.