Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect that the increase in the Living Wage will have on small businesses; and what financial plans he has to support small firms to make this increase.

The Government recently published its Impact Assessment of the planned increases to the National Living Wage applying from this April. The Impact Assessment provides estimates of the costs the National Living Wage increases will place on some businesses. The Government recognises that the increases will mean extra costs for some businesses. However, it’s right that workers are fairly rewarded for their input into the economy.

More generally, since 2014 the Employment Allowance has helped businesses with the costs of employment, reducing employers’ National Insurance contributions bill by £3,000. Over 1 million employers are benefitting from this relief.