National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill Committee: Amendment 23

Amendment 23 to the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill was defeated on 17 December 2024 by 352 votes to 196. The amendment sought to preserve the existing 13.8% employer National Insurance rate for a defined group of employers, specifically charities registered in the charity register or Scottish charity register, voluntary organisations, GP practices, universities, and further education colleges, while the rest of the economy moved to the new 15% rate the bill introduces from April 2025. The defeat means these sectors will face the full employer NIC increase alongside all other employers. GP practices, which are typically independent contractor businesses rather than NHS bodies, will bear higher payroll costs without direct access to the NHS budget uplift that hospital trusts may receive. Charities and universities have similarly argued they cannot easily pass costs on to customers or raise prices, making them more exposed than commercial employers to the rise in the secondary threshold reduction and the rate increase combined. Every Conservative MP voted for the amendment, joined by all 70 Liberal Democrat MPs who voted, all five Democratic Unionist Party members, all five Reform UK MPs present, three Plaid Cymru MPs, and one SNP MP. Labour, including Labour and Co-operative Party members, voted unanimously against, providing the government's majority. No Labour MP supported the amendment. The vote reflects a clear government intention to apply the NIC changes uniformly, resisting sector-specific carve-outs that opposition parties framed as protection for public-facing and charitable employers.