To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to IR35 legislation on contractors' ability to secure work.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of IR35 changes on the contractor workforce on the ability of the Government to complete major infrastructure projects.

The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published in July 2019 sets out HMRC’s assessment that the reform to the off-payroll working rules is expected to affect 170,000 individuals. The TIIN can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020.

On 17 March 2020, the Government announced that the reform to the off-payroll working rules that would have applied for people contracting their services to large or medium-sized organisations outside the public sector will be delayed for one year from 6 April 2020 until 6 April 2021.

This is part of additional support for businesses and individuals to deal with the economic impacts of Covid-19. This means that the different rules that exist for inside and outside the public sector will continue to apply until 6 April 2021.

This announcement is a deferral of the introduction of the reforms, not a cancellation. The Government remains committed to introducing this policy to ensure that people working like employees, but through their own limited company, pay broadly the same tax as individuals who are employed directly.