Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 8 April (HL3589), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what is their assessment of the implications for calculating entitlement to contributory working age benefits and pensions of abolishing, rather than cutting, national insurance contributions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government already cut employee NICs by 4p, self-employed NICs by 3p and abolished the requirement to pay Class 2 for self-employed people across Autumn and Spring without increasing borrowing or cutting spending. That is the model the Government wants to follow when it is prudent to go further.
The ambition to abolish NICs is about reducing tax and rewarding work, not about reforming the contributory benefits system. It is a long-term ambition, and the Government has been clear, this cannot be done overnight and this can only be done in a fiscally responsible way.
Cutting NICs rates does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 3.21 of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Department for Work and Pensions Accounts 2022-23, published on 6 July 2023, how many and what proportion of the incorrect National Insurance records have (a) been and (b) not yet been updated.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To date we have processed over 23 million pieces of data to HMRC and less than 1% (0.88%) needs data validations. We expect this will be completed by Summer 2024.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value was of (a) Class 1 employee, (b) Class 1 employer, (c) Class 2 and (d) Class 4 self-employed National Insurance Contributions receipts in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes forecast levels of National Insurance receipts in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook report.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility National Insurance criteria for Employment and Support Allowance to people who have paid National Insurance contributions over two full tax years in their lives.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NS ESA) is a benefit for individuals with a limited capability to work based on the individual’s recent National Insurance (NI) record.
Normally, to be entitled to NS ESA, a claimant has to satisfy two NI conditions: to have worked and paid enough NI contributions in one of the two tax years prior to claiming NS ESA for at least 26 weeks; and to have either paid, or been credited with, enough NI contributions in both of the two tax years prior to claiming NS ESA that is at least 50 times the minimum threshold.
Looking at the most recent tax years, ensures people have a recent record of paid contributions and therefore a close link with the labour market.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department has spent on the SME team at UK Defence and Security Exports in each financial year since 2019-20.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The department has interpreted this as the amount spent on staffing costs for Civil Servants on DBT payroll within the SME team at UK Defence and Security Exports. The cost for each financial year since 2019-20 is outlined in the table below.
Financial Year | Spend |
Apr 2019 - Mar 2020 | £161,098 |
Apr 2020 - Mar 2021 | £145,676 |
Apr 2021 - Mar 2022 | £65,837 |
Apr 2022- Mar 2023 | £115,881 |
Apr 2023 - Mar 2024 | £99,642 |
Staffing costs include the base salaries, allowances, overtime, non-consolidated performance bonuses and employer National Insurance and pensions contributions for those working in the team during the relevant financial reporting period.
Note: Due to Machinery of Government changes the costs up to and including July 2023 relate to the former Department for International Trade only and then following the transfer of staff in August 2023 to DBT.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure that rural households that rely on sustainable solid fuels will not experience increases in household bills.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Alternative fuel prices have fallen since winter 2022-23 and while there is no price cap for alternative fuels, households who use solid fuel for heating are still protected by the price cap for their electricity tariff.
The Government is currently providing a package of support worth £108 billion, or £3,800 per household on average between 2022 – 2025, which is one of the largest support packages in Europe. The Government is continuing to support households past April 2024, cutting National Insurance contributions, worth £900 to the average worker, increasing benefits by 6.7%, and increasing the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2024 to Question 17582 on National Insurance Contributions: State Retirement Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of abolishing, rather than reducing, national insurance contributions on state pension entitlements.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Cutting NICs rates does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they intend to provide to households to adapt to changes in energy prices.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Energy prices have fallen significantly since winter 2022-23, and the Quarter 2 2024 price cap of £1,690 has fallen by nearly 60% since the Quarter 1 2023 price cap peak. Despite this, the Government has committed to supporting households in 2024-25, with a further cut to National Insurance contributions down to 8%, an increase to benefits of 6.7%, and the largest increase to the National Living Wage.
The Warm Home Discount continues to provide a £150 rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025-26.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 18 March (HL Deb col 82), what is their assessment of the implications for calculating entitlement to contributory working age benefits and pensions of abolishing national insurance contributions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Cutting NICs does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the immigration health surcharge for people who already (a) work and (b) pay taxes in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government has no plans to remove the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) for temporary migrants who work and pay taxes in the UK.
It is right those granted temporary immigration permission for more than six months should contribute to the sustainability of our NHS. Having paid the IHS, temporary migrants can access the NHS as soon as they arrive in the UK and will only be charged for services that a permanent resident would also pay for, such as prescription charges in England.
Although some temporary migrants will pay tax and National Insurance contributions after they start work in the UK, they will not on average have made the same financial contribution to the NHS which most UK nationals and permanent residents have made, or will make, over the course of their working lives. It is an individual’s immigration status, not their tax and National Insurance contributions, which governs their access to the NHS.