Lord Londesborough (CB)

I thank the Minister for his comments, but I am disappointed and, frankly, baffled that the Treasury can tell us specifically—he repeated these figures—how many employers are impacted by the national insurance increase, yet there is a curious resistance to answering my specific and fair question: what percentage of jobs will attract an increase in national insurance contributions? In October, the Department for Business and Trade helpfully provided a sectoral breakdown, by company size and number of jobs, under each category. It is fairly simple maths to come out with a reasonable estimate. This is in the interests of transparency; I am not trying to nail the Government here. Everyone should be able to understand across our economy, as we all share an interest in trying to generate economic growth, how many jobs are impacted. “Working people” is a favourite phrase that we keep hearing; how many of their jobs will be impacted? If the Minister cannot produce the figures today, which I would respect, I request just a few minutes of research between the Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade. I believe that these figures could be produced very simply and that they would be very helpful in looking at the impact of this Bill. I cannot understand the resistance to it.