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news opinion What is the point of NI?


National insurance was introduced before the First World War but its purpose has fundamentally changed since then. Originally, NI was a fund to help working people who fell on hard times. An employee would contribute from his wages and then claim back if he lost his job or was in need of medical treatment.


Today, NI is supposed to pay for the NHS, for sickness and disability allowances, for the dole, and for the state pension.


But since the Government borrows from the NI pot to pay for other spending, it is no different to any other part of the government’s bank, in that it will be spent on arms, on schools, on roads, and the rest.


Sometimes, ministers pretend they are holding down taxes, while quietly raising the cost of NI. They like us to forget that NI is also a tax – one that both employer and employee contribute.


Partly because money has been spent (wasted) by successive governments, and partly because the number of people to spend it on is inexorably rising, there is now very little money for pensions.


Which is why the pension reforms which came into effect last month are so important, and why it’s so worrying to learn that nearly half the SMEs in this country know nothing about them.


Auto-enrolment means that all employers must automatically enrol their staff into a qualifying workplace pension scheme, and the company must pay minimum pension contributions in respect of those workers.


Quite simply, employers – the biggest employers at first, but eventually each and every one in the UK – will have to ensure that employees receive a pension when they retire. It’s a fundamental change – but one that is going unnoticed.


David Murray Publisher


www.businessmag.co.uk


TVBMA finalists revealed


Dynamic Business Award (sponsored by Deloitte)


• Fiddes Payne • Norbar Torque Tools • Prisym ID • Prodec Networks • Star • Volume


Best Company to Work For (sponsored by Hays)


• BDO • Bottomline Technologies • Norbar Torque Tools • Phabrix • Retail Marketing Group • Ultima Business Solutions


Green Progress Award (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)


• First Great Western • GE Healthcare • Phabrix • Henmans LLP • HCR


Best Use of Technology (sponsored by Pulsant)


• Alcis Holdings • Europa Technologies • Clearview Traffic Group • OmPrompt • Purley Park • TSL


SPONSORS


Business Management Team (sponsored by RBS)


• Allmakes • CH&Co • Fiddes Payne • Norbar Torque Tools • Softcat • The Racecourse, Newbury


SME of the Year (sponsored by James Cowper)


• Cotswold Fayre • Fiscal Technologies • GRITIT • IT Talent Solutions • Phabrix • STL Communications


Thames Valley Business of the Year (sponsored by Pitmans)


• Bottomline Technologies • Content Guru • Innovate Services • SDL • Softcat • Westcoast


Charity of the Year (sponsored by James Cowper)


• Berkshire Maestros


• Helen and Douglas House Hospice


• Launchpad Reading • Soha Housing • The Oasis Partnership


Hilary Devey


B THAMES VALLEYUSINESS MAGAZINE AWARDS 2012


Entries poured in for the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards 2012, and the finalist companies have been announced – see www.businessawards.co.uk and below


The gala evening, with special guest Hilary Devey, star of Dragon’s Den, is at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre, Reading, on November 15 and the winners of all eight categories will be revealed on the night.


Go to the website the following day for all the results.


And in the build-up to the big event, which will be hosted by Martin Standford of Sky News, join the conversation on Twitter - @TheBusinessMag and #TVBMA.


To book tickets, email Linda Morse at linda@elcot.co.uk


In the December/January issue of The Business Magazine


• Corporate Finance


• Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards 2012


• Environmental Focus


Details: 0118-9766411 sales@elcot.co.uk


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – NOVEMBER 2012


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