Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the savings to businesses resulting from the Government's national insurance changes in (a) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber region and (c) the UK

The Employment Allowance, which has been in place since April 2014, reduces an eligible employer’s employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) bill by up to £2,000 a year. Estimates of the number of employers benefitting from the allowance up to October 5^th 2014, including breakdowns by region and constituency, are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-allowance-take-up-statistics.

By October 5th around 856,000 employers in the UK, 66,000 in Yorkshire and The Humber, 1,800 in Harrogate and Knaresborough are estimated to have benefitted by up to £2,000 from the Employment Allowance in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The Government has also committed to abolishing employer NICs up to the Upper Earnings Limit (£41,865 in 2014/15) for employees under the age of 21 from April 2015.

These policies demonstrate the Government’s commitment to reducing the costs of employment for businesses across the UK.