Question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what amount proportion of the increase in the National Insurance bill in 2025 was due to (a) increases in Civil Service salaries and (b) increases in the rate of National Insurance for employers.
Answer
The Cabinet Office does not hold information on the proportion of increases in the estimated National Insurance costs that are due to increases in Civil Service salaries versus increases in the rate.
Verdict: AMBER (68/100) DATA NOT HELD
The reply addresses both parts of the question by stating plainly that the Cabinet Office does not hold the breakdown between Civil Service pay increases attributable to salary rises and those attributable to rate increases, including the employer National Insurance component. This is an honest statement that the data is not held, not an evasion. However, it offers no related figures or alternative breakdown, so the asker gets a clear answer about what is not available but nothing quantitative to work with.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What proportion of the increase in the National Insurance bill in 2025 was due to increases in Civil Service salaries | Data Not Held | Generic | The reply says the Cabinet Office does not hold the breakdown between Civil Service salary increases and rate increases, but it supplies no related figures, so it honestly reports the gap without substituting any closely relevant data. |
| What proportion of the increase in the National Insurance bill in 2025 was due to increases in the rate of National Insurance for employers | Data Not Held | Generic | The same statement covers the employer NI rate component, stating that the proportion attributable to rate increases is not held, with no figures or further breakdown offered, so it is an honest absence rather than a substantive answer. |