Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the cumulative potential impact of (a) changes to employer National Insurance contributions, (b) changes to the National Minimum Wage, and (c) the Employment Rights Act 2025 on the recruitment, investment, and growth plans of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Government has published a range of analytical documents covering the policies referenced, which set out their likely impacts on businesses of different sizes.

As per our Better Regulation requirements, each Impact Assessment covering the Employment Rights Act 2025 and The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026 includes a small and micro business assessment. These analyses also consider the economic impacts on the wider economy.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was also published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.