Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on tourism businesses in (i) Kent and (ii) the Weald of Kent.

The Government protected small businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, and 865,000 employers will pay no NICs in 2025-26. My Department published an Impact Assessment for the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, which includes a breakdown of the expected impacts by sector and region.

We recognise the importance of manufacturing and the tourism sector to local economies such as Kent and the Weald of Kent, where many businesses (particularly SMEs) are sensitive to changes in employment costs. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) continues to work closely with industry stakeholders and across departments to monitor the health of the visitor economy and to ensure that tourism voices are reflected in wider policy discussions.