NORTH Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson is urging Cornish businesses to check if they are eligible for Employment Allowance.

Thousands of Cornish businesses are already benefiting from help with their employer's National Insurance costs, but many are not getting what they are entitled to under a Government scheme.

Recent figures from the Treasury indicate that 1,600 businesses in North Cornwall have benefited from the Government's Employment Allowance since it was introduced in April 2014.

Across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 8,400 businesses have taken up the allowance.

The Employment Allowance allows businesses and charities to reduce their national insurance bill by up to £2,000 a year, and is designed to help them to sustain and create jobs.

Under the scheme a business employing four people full-time on the National Minimum Wage will pay no employer National Insurance contributions at all, whilst a business employing three people on the average private sector wage would see their National Insurance bill cut by 25%.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.