Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department's policy on employment allowance on (a) employment and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises; and whether he plans to amend the employment allowance policy.

The Employment Allowance allows business and charities throughout the UK to reduce their employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill by up to £3,000 every year. Last year alone this meant over 1 million employers benefitted, of which 97% had fewer than 50 employees. Employers overall saved £2bn in employers NICs due to the Employment Allowance.

The Government published research into awareness and impact of the Employment Allowance with small employers in 2015. This can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445848/Research_Report_368_Awareness_and_Impact_of_the_Employment_Allowance_-_Research_with_small_employers.pdf