MP’s Have Rejected House Of Lords Attempt To Exempt Small NonProfits From National Insurance Contribution Rise

Peers from the House of Lords have previously voted to exempt smaller NonProfits (with an annual income of under £1m) from the upcoming National Insurance Contribution increases. They’ve also proposed amendments that would require the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to conduct impact assessments on a wide variety of sectors, including NonProfits.

However… MPs have just rejected those amendments when the NICs Bill was returned to Parliament for its final stage before going to Royal Assent.

The reason given for the rejection was short, simply stating “because the Lords amendment interferes with the public revenue, and the Commons do not offer any further reason, trusting that this reason may be deemed sufficient.”

MPs also offered a terse explanation for the rejection of impact assessment, stating: “Because information has already been published about these matters and a further review is not necessary.”

“We are disappointed that the Lords’ amendments have not been passed by the Commons today. Peers set out a full and fair case for the exemption of charities under £1m and rightly expressed their concerns with the government’s rise in national insurance contributions. We are grateful to them for putting forward these amendments – they would have given small charities much-needed breathing space during what is proving to be an incredibly difficult operating environment. A survey we conducted in February shows that charity leaders are as concerned about the increase in National Insurance as they were five months ago when the chancellor delivered her first budget, with 82% of respondents either ‘very’ or ‘moderately concerned’ about affording the rise. Many small charities deliver essential support for people across the country, and many of them will now be faced with a difficult decision regarding cuts to these services, which will in turn impact greatly on those who need them. We hope that the chancellor’s spring statement and spending review can provide better news for the sector which is much needed.”

Richard Sagar – Head Of Policy, Charity Finance Group (CFG)