Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of increases in (a) employer National Insurance contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on annual costs to the hospitality sector.

Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK.

We are pleased to deliver a significant increase to the minimum wage, and to take crucial steps towards the creation of a genuine living wage that supports millions of families across the country.

The Government will protect the smallest businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, more than half of employers see no change or gain overall from this package and employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

The Government published an Impact Assessment for the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates which includes a breakdown of impact by sector.