Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of National Minimum Wage rules on access to the Cycle to Work Scheme for low paid workers; and whether he is considering alternative mechanisms to enable workers who cannot participate through salary sacrifice to receive equivalent financial support.

The Cycle to Work scheme supports employees who choose to travel to work by bicycle by providing Income Tax and National Insurance contributions relief to employers and employees where the scheme is operated through salary sacrifice arrangements.

Employees earning at or near the National Minimum Wage (NMW) cannot enter into a salary sacrifice arrangement if doing so would reduce their contractual pay below the applicable NMW rate. This restriction helps maintain the integrity of the NMW framework and ensures that workers continue to benefit from its protections regardless of how their remuneration package is structured.

Employees who cannot access the tax advantages of the scheme through salary sacrifice may still be able to access cycles provided by their employer, for example through net-pay hire arrangements or workplace cycle pools where these are offered.