National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill Motion to Disagree with Lords Amendment 21

Parliament voted on 19 March 2025 to reject Lords amendment 21 to the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill, overturning a change made by the House of Lords to the government's employer National Insurance legislation. The motion to disagree with the Lords amendment passed by 316 votes to 187. The vote was one of several on the same day concerning Lords amendments 1 to 21, most of which the government also moved to reject. The vote matters because it keeps in place the government's planned increase to employer secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions, meaning the higher rate and lower threshold for employers will proceed as originally set out. Lords amendment 21 was among a package of amendments seeking to protect certain sectors, particularly health and social care providers including GPs, dentists, pharmacists, social care organisations and hospices, from the full effect of the new rates. By rejecting the Lords amendments, the government confirmed that those independent contractors and charitable providers will not receive the same direct relief that central government departments, local authorities and public corporations will receive to offset their increased costs. Labour MPs voted unanimously in favour of rejecting the Lords amendment, with 282 Labour and 32 Labour and Co-operative members supporting the government position and none voting against. Conservatives (96), Liberal Democrats (62), the Scottish National Party (8), Reform UK (5), Plaid Cymru (4), the Green Party (3) and the Democratic Unionist Party (3) all voted against the government. Two independents voted with the government and six against. There were no notable cross-party rebellions within Labour's ranks. The vote represents a stage in the parliamentary process known as ping-pong, in which the two Houses exchange disagreements over amendments until one House accepts the other's position or a compromise is reached.