Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases to the lower national insurance threshold for employer contributions on small seasonal businesses.

The government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer’s National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year. More than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package.

A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November and can be found here: Changes to the Class 1 National Insurance Contributions Secondary Threshold, the Secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions rate, and the Employment Allowance from 6 April 2025 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).