Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)

My Lords, these two amendments require the Chancellor to prepare a report to consider the effects of the Government’s changes to employer national insurance contributions on the climate and on those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. I will be brief. I come at the matter from a different perspective. The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, is often arguing in favour of more tax and less growth, which obviously is not where I come from. Equalities are well looked after by the 2010 Act and we have equality assessments on nearly everything. I have suggested on some occasions to the Minister that a growth and productivity assessment would be a useful addition to getting delivery of his number one mission of growth. The impacts of this Bill will be felt by employers and particular sectors, including part-timers, many of whom are women, as the noble Baroness has said. We have discussed that at great length. However, a review of the kind that she proposes is a huge stretch. It sounds bureaucratic and speculative. I also believe that it is inappropriate to try to improve work on climate change in this Bill by yet more bureaucratic processes on top of those which are already set out in the Environment Act. We need to focus instead on the impact of this brutal jobs tax on the sectors that are smarting under its prospect. That is what we are doing. I look forward to hearing how the Minister feels about these amendments.