To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department’s policy is on employee share ownership schemes; and what estimate he has made of how many companies operate such schemes. (114890)

The Government are committed to supporting employee share ownership, which benefits companies, employees and the economy.

The Government encourage employee share ownership through three tax-advantaged share schemes: Save-As-You-Earn (SAYE), the Share Incentive Plan (SIP), and the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP).

The Government also introduced the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), designed to help small higher-risk companies recruit and retain employees who have the skills that will help the company to grow and succeed. EMI as a share option incentive also facilitates employee share ownership.

Details on all the tax-advantaged share schemes, including the National Statistics on their usage, can be found at:

www.hmrc.gov.uk/shareschemes/

The Government have not made any estimate regarding how many companies operate non-tax-advantaged employee share schemes.