Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent changes to National Insurance contributions on small manufacturing businesses.

The Chancellor has decided to protect the smallest businesses, including in the manufacturing sector, by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, and removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, meaning all eligible employers benefit. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package.