The Lagan Valley MLA said: “Labour’s Budget announced that employers would face a hike of 1.2 percentage points to their National Insurance contributions, taking the rate to 15 percent.

“It seems unlikely that businesses can simply swallow this increase themselves. It will be passed on to the employees who will ultimately pay the price. The Chancellor herself has admitted that future pay increases will be affected by this measure and Northern Ireland’s employers’ organisations have already expressed concern about the consequences of increased contributions. 

“Increase in National Insurance also means that companies that were looking to expand their workforce could be deterred from doing so, and for some businesses this increase in the cost of employment could affect the viability of their enterprise. NI’s hard-pressed hospitality industry, which plays such an important role in our economy, could be hugely affected as businesses such as bars, restaurants and hotels depend on high numbers of workers. All in all, this is bad news for businesses and bad news for workers. 

“I have often spoken of the need to revitalise our high streets, as city and town centre businesses in Northern Ireland already suffer from an uneven playing field when it comes to taxation. 

“On Monday (4 November) Alliance is bringing a motion to the Assembly calling for a comprehensive strategy to revitalise our high streets. That strategy needs to look at a range of areas, including small business rate relief, planning, the nighttime economy and beyond. This would at least go some part of the way to alleviating the bad news on National Insurance.

“While we support the Chancellor’s ambition to raise revenue for public services, there were other ways to do it that don’t impact so harshly on the likes of small businesses. My Alliance colleagues and I will continue to work together to support local businesses on our high streets and town centres which play a crucial role in boosting our economy.”