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1379499

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	National Insurance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department made, prior to the decision being taken, of the potential impact of the rise in Employer National Insurance Contributions on (a) the employment rate and (b) wages.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	76717
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>I refer the Hon Member to the answer that was given on 19 November 2021 to PQ UIN 75954.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 25/11/2021 15:37:24 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1379500

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employers' Contributions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research his Department has commissioned on the impact of the rise in Employer National Contributions on (a) the employment rate and (b) wages.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	76718
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>The Office for Budget Responsibility set out their assessment of the economic effects of the Levy in their latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook, including the impact on labour supply and wages. This can be found here: <a href="https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2021/" target="_blank">https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2021/</a></p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 25/11/2021 15:38:34 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1379501

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employment Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on levels of (a) pay and (b) employment of raising employment allowance.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	76719
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>The Government currently has no plans to increase the Employment Allowance (EA).</p><p> </p><p>Since its introduction in April 2014, the EA has already been significantly increased, including rising from £3,000 to £4,000 in April 2020. This increase benefitted around 510,000 businesses, of which 65,000 businesses were estimated to be taken out of paying National Insurance contributions entirely.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 25/11/2021 15:35:50 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1379502

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Living Wage and National Insurance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the threshold number of full time equivalent employees on the (a) National Living Wage and (b) the average national wage that can be employed before an employer is liable to pay employer National Insurance Contributions from April 2022.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	76720
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>An employer which is eligible to claim the Employment Allowance (EA) will be able to hire up to 3 employees on the National Living Wage who work 35 hours a week, for an entire year, before they have an employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) bill in 2022-23: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates</a></p><p> </p><p>An employer which is eligible to claim the EA will be able to hire up to 1.5 employees on the median national wage in 2021 before they have an employer NICs bill in 2022-23: <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2021" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2021</a></p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 77456 question first answered 25/11/2021 08:20:55 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1379503

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Business: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an estimate of the potential number of (a) business exits, (b) insolvencies in 2022-23; and what assessment he has made of (i) the potential extent of business mergers and consolidation in 2022-23 in (ii) the effect of (A) business exits, (B) insolvencies and (C) business consolidation on employment rates.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	76721
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>Support schemes such as the CJRS and government-backed loans kept insolvencies and business exits below normal levels throughout much of the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>To protect businesses from aggressive creditor action during Covid enforced restrictions there was a temporary ban on Winding Up Petitions (WUP) for Covid-19-related debt. As the economy returns to normal trading conditions, it is right that creditor powers are restored.</p><p> </p><p>Insolvencies returned to pre-covid levels in September 2021, coinciding with the end of the WUP ban. It is too early to assess the full impact of support ending on business consolidation as some support schemes, such as the rent moratorium, are still in place.</p><p> </p><p>Vacancy levels are higher than normal. As a result, we expect that the employment rate should remain relatively stable in the face of business exits and consolidation in 2022-23.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Helen Whately grouped question UIN 77457 question first answered 25/11/2021 10:41:05 answering member 4527 label Biography information for Helen Whately
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1379504

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	National Insurance Contributions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of payroll employee jobs effected by the rise in (a) employee ad (b) employer National Insurance Contributions from April 2022.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	76722
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>The Government has not made an estimate of the proportion of payroll employee jobs affected by the rise in National Insurance contributions from April 2022 as this information is not available.</p><p> </p><p>Individual employees are not directly impacted by the employer National Insurance rise which is paid by employers.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 77458 question first answered 25/11/2021 15:33:43 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1379506

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Skilled Workers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the likely levels of discrepancy between the (a) skills and geographic location of people looking for work and (b) needs of employers (i) within sectors, (ii) between sectors and (iii) across the whole economy, following the lifting of covid-19 public health measures.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	76723
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2021 answer text <p>The department undertakes labour market analysis through numerous means to help determine immediate and longer-term skills needs, such as:</p><ul><li>managing the Employer Skills Survey (ESS), which is the only national survey of employers providing comprehensive and robust information on employers’ skills needs by sector, occupation and geography, their interaction with the skills system, and their investment in training</li><li>publishing the current Working Futures labour market projections of jobs by sector, occupation, and geography for the UK labour market</li><li>funding Labour Market Information (LMI) for All - an impartial service which connects and standardises existing national sources of high quality and reliable LMI</li><li>establishing the Skills and Productivity Board which provides independent, expert, labour-market analysis on skills, skills mismatches, and their impacts (for 2021, this includes a focus on skills shortages)</li><li>establishing 36 Skills Advisory Panels across the country to undertake analysis of local labour markets and produce Local Skills Reports setting out an area’s main skills strengths and needs</li></ul><p>We last ran the ESS in 2019, which captured employer reported skill shortages by sector, occupation, location, and skill-type. The ESS showed that construction and manufacturing employers were among the sectors that struggled the most to find applicants with the right skills, experience, or qualifications. The ESS also showed that, within most sectors, employers found it the most difficult to find adequately skilled applicants for occupations classed as ‘skilled trades’.</p><p>The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for collecting data on job vacancies, which is a measure of employer skill needs. Since the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions, official statistics show that the largest proportional increases in vacancies between May-July 2021 to August-October 2021 occurred in the construction sector, transport and storage sector, and manufacturing sector. Further information can be found here: <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/jobsandvacanciesintheuk/november2021" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/jobsandvacanciesintheuk/november2021</a>.</p><p>We are also working to make the skills system more responsive to employer need.</p><p>The ‘Skills for Jobs’ White Paper launched earlier this year set out our aims to build on the success of our flagship apprenticeships programme by putting employers at the heart of the system so that education and training provision meets their needs. By 2030, almost all technical courses will be aligned to employer-led standards, ensuring that the education and training people receive are directly linked to the skills needed for jobs.</p><p>The white paper also set out our plans for local areas to be able to plan what skills they need, with local employers leading the process. We are therefore introducing Local Skills Improvement Plans, starting in a small number of trailblazer areas in 2021 led by established employer representative organisations. The first eight were announced in July 2021. The Plans will bring together colleges and other providers, employers, Job Centres Plus, and other local organisations to identify skills needs and the capacity the area has to deliver them.</p><p>Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has provided a total of £352 billion to support the economy. This includes the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Plan for Jobs programmes such as Restart and Kickstart, alongside other measures to boost work search activity, skills and apprenticeships.</p><p>As a result, latest figures confirm we are now above pre-COVID-19 outbreak levels of employees on payroll.</p><p>We are working across government and across the country to identify sectors with immediate or growing demand and are implementing a range of initiatives to ensure that upskilling programmes meet this demand.</p><p>This work includes the sector-based work academy programme (SWAP) where Jobcentre staff work with local employers and tailor training and support packages to help claimants fill local vacancies. DWP is increasing the number of SWAP opportunities to 80,000 over the current financial year 2021/22.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 24/11/2021 10:43:29 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1377876

registered interest
date	12/11/2021
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Ophthalmology: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to support Scotland to become a leader in eye health research.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	73871
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>Health research is a devolved responsibility. However, through the National Institute for Health Research, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland work together on a range of research topics and the devolved administrations co-fund several research programmes.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 17/11/2021 17:20:13 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1378066

registered interest
date	12/11/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Technology: Research
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he is taking steps to contribute to the (a) development and (b) validation of human-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip technologies.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	73872
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2021 answer text <p>The Government actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs).  This is achieved primarily through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice, and regulations on animal research.</p><p>The NC3Rs receives its core funding from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Medical Research Council, and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, it has committed £100 million in research to develop 3Rs technologies.</p><p>In addition to funding the NC3Rs, UKRI also funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies. UKRI also encourages grant applicants, including those whose research does not involve animals but could contribute to greater reduction and replacement, to consider further opportunities to advance the 3Rs.</p><p>Between 2015-2019, the BBSRC spent over £7 million on research grants aimed at developing and applying innovative methodologies to studying human and animal physiology, including in silico approaches, organ-on-a-chip, organoid and other advanced cell culture systems.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 22/11/2021 18:05:05 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier

1378067

registered interest
date	12/11/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Life Sciences and Medicine: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure equitable distribution of funds between the (a) National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research and (b) broader life science and medical-related research sectors.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Margaret Ferrier
uin	73873
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2021 answer text <p>The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) receives its core funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and since it was launched in 2004, it has committed £100 million through its research, innovation, and early career awards to provide new 3Rs approaches for scientists in academia and industry to use. This funding builds on wider funding by UKRI on development of alternative approaches to the use of animals. UKRI welcomes applications for research into any aspect of human health and is committed to funding excellence.</p><p> </p><p>Between 2015-2019 UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council spent over £7 million on research grants aimed at developing and applying innovative methodologies to studying human and animal physiology, including in silico approaches, organ-on-a-chip, organoid and other advanced cell culture systems. Additionally, UKRI’s Medical Research Council launched a new Precision Medicine Accelerator to take ideas from discovery science into research using humans, focused on early clinical application. The Experimental Medicine Panel has an annual budget of £10 million.</p><p> </p><p>The recent Spending Review set the total amount of funding available for the next three years. Internal business planning is underway to allocate specific funding for life sciences and broader medical R&amp;D which will be announced soon. As part of this process £95 million of new funding has recently been announced which will support the development and use of the most promising new drugs and technologies, as part of the Government’s commitment to the NHS and making the UK a Science and Technology Superpower.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 22/11/2021 18:06:22 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4386 label Biography information for Margaret Ferrier