argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): One has to first understand a problem before one can address the problem. I think we are all in agreement on this issue. Would we like higher productivity? Yes, we would. Would we like more better paid jobs? Yes, we would, and that goes for Conservatives as much as any other party in this House—probably more than any other party in this House. We not only will the end—more high-paid jobs—but are prepared to take some of the decisions that Opposition parties always deny or query in order to allow those better paid jobs to be created Let me go on from the analysis. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will reflect on what I have said and understand that I have provided a good explanation of the path that productivity has taken since 2007, which is a matter of common concern but has some understandable things that we cannot address. For example, we cannot suddenly wish a lot more oil into Scotland, and that remains a fact. We will not be able suddenly to create all those high-end banking jobs. Some Opposition parties probably would not like them anyway. We are where we are. What we can do about productivity is to work away on those parts of the economy where the performance has been most disappointing.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree, but only if we have ineffective or over-the-top regulation. Removing it can give more people access to the market and provide a greater competitive challenge, but we need some regulation, because we need rules and certain guarantees in the market Let us take a sector that I asked the shadow Chancellor about. It was a problem that, in the Labour years, we had a long period of practically no growth in public sector productivity. I am the first to admit that the concept of productivity is more difficult in parts of the public sector. People actually like more teachers relative to the number of pupils, because they hope that that will create better teaching and a better system in classes, but it means that productivity falls. That means that we need other parts of the public sector, where the productivity issue is more straightforward or more like the private sector, to be even better, so that the overall performance of the public sector does not lag behind and cause difficulties. As we have quite a big public sector in this economy, the performance of the public sector is very important. It also happens to be the area where Ministers have most control and most direct influence, so it is the area that this House should spend more time on, because we are collectively responsible for the performance of the public sector. I think most parties now agree that we want to get more for less in the public sector, so that we can control public spending. There are disagreements about how much control we should exert on public spending, but I hope there is agreement that if it is possible to do more for less while improving—or not damaging—quality, that is a good thing to do.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Transportation
John Alan Redwood (Conservative, Centre-right): I am afraid I need to move on because many people wish to speak. Time is limited I draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the issue that I raised with him in my intervention. One very important industry that is almost completely nationalised—the tracks, signals and stations are completely nationalised and the train operating companies are very strongly regulated and controlled by franchises, so they are almost nationalised—is the railway industry. It is a growing industry, and this Government are committing a lot of money to it. It is an industry which, I believe, all the main parties in the House wish to commit money to and wish to grow and invest in. However, an independent study in 2011, the McNulty report, showed that our railway does less for more cost than comparable railways on the continent. It should be a matter of great concern, and I hope it will be a matter for review by those dealing with the railways and with public spending, because as we channel those huge sums of money into our railway to try to get expansion and improvement, we need to pull off the trick that the best private sector companies manage—of driving quality up and costs down at the same time. A myth in some public sector managers’ minds is that a cut in the amount spent is bound to lead to worse quality or impaired service, whereas every day in a good private sector company they go to work saying, "How can I spend less and serve the customer better? How can I apply new technology so that I get more for less? How can I have a better skilled and better motivated workforce?"—I hope it is not done by unpleasant management, because that usually leads to the wrong results—and "How can I motivate the workforce more so that they are empowered to achieve more and do less?" That is the spirit that we need in the public sector, and if we began with the railways, it would make a very important contribution to improving our overall productivity rate.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Harry Harpham) for his moving speech about a part of the world I know well, having spent two and a half years fighting you, Madam Deputy Speaker, in North East Derbyshire; my productivity was not as high as yours. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden) for a fantastic, polished speech. I would like to follow in the same manner, but I may fail I am reminded that the concept of productivity requires the measurement of the quantity of goods and services produced per unit of labour input. Although many Conservative Members would maintain that it has indeed been Labour input that has caused a lack of productivity, via the party’s role in government during the economic crisis of 2007, I wish to explore the performance of my Government since 2010. In short, I contend that our success in creating 2 million new jobs in a difficult economic climate may have had some impact in the ratio of goods and services produced per unit of labour, but increased employment will ultimately cause the increase in productivity that I believe we are on the cusp of enjoying if we remain on the course we have plotted since 2010 In reaching that conclusion, I am indebted to the excellent article "The UK productivity puzzle", published by the Bank of England. The report explores the various factors at play in explaining why productivity has not behaved as one would expect following a recession. Again, I consider these reasons to be grounds for reflection or optimism in that, first, the UK electorate has been protected by the Government’s macro interventions since 2010; secondly, companies have focused their output on matters, such as research and development, that are not measured in productivity figures until unleashed on the market; and, thirdly, that we have new entrants to the workforce—some of whom are economic migrants, who have the potential to increase our productivity as they excel up the career ladder. I will briefly take each point in turn First, on protecting the UK electorate, unlike in previous recessions UK plc has not shed its workforce, but has retained its staff. Companies have kept going and kept workers employed and they deserve our thanks for doing so. These positive survival rates for businesses can also be put down to the increased forbearance of banks with respect to SMEs In previous recessions, banks failed to stand by businesses, which experienced falls in profitability. Thanks to the pressure applied by this Government since 2010, companies have been able to ride out the recession because banks have been forced to stand by them. Additionally, the Treasury, the Bank of England and HMRC have played a part by providing incentives to employ, keeping interests low and granting time-to-pay schemes for staffing levels to be maintained and for recruitment to occur.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree. These decisions and the extra 2 million new jobs created might have had some impact on productivity in a statistical sense, but we have done what a one nation Government should do. It is markedly different from the behaviour of other Governments during past recessions. It is different, too, from measures taken by countries such as France. French productivity may be higher, but France created fewer jobs between 2010 and 2015 than did Yorkshire. The French labour market is so regulated and expensive that French companies opt out by failing to hire. Higher productivity can mean lower employment and vice-versa A second cause of optimism about increased productivity is the output to come. Companies have had to work harder to win or maintain a stagnant order book, perhaps moving labour to roles such as sales and marketing, which would not count as "output" in the national accounts until the product was sold. As this effort bears fruit, the productivity rates will benefit. A similar argument can be put for research and development. Thanks to this Government’s programme of incentives to increase R and D, investment has proved strong. The output from R and D is not apparent, and not included in the GDP data, but as these returns filter through, R and D will, as the Bank of England reports, "bring about a relatively prompt and significant improvement in productivity growth".
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Labor
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree that high-speed broadband is essential. It would create capacity and productivity in areas that infrastructure might find hard to reach These factors will, I believe, allow the UK to overcome the impact on productivity from cyclical and sector changes, such as the scaling back of financial services and the artificial productivity that financial services might have created during the last 10 years The third cause of optimism is the new workforce. Although a high proportion of the 2 million jobs are highly skilled, some are obviously lower skilled and might not yet contribute as much to the UK’s productivity. This is part of the investment in people, via new jobs and apprenticeships, which will take people up the career ladder to increased productivity. Giving a job opportunity to someone who was previously on welfare can transform their lives and, as they reach their potential, I believe that will help our economic productivity as well as enriching the cause of social justice in this country I am led to conclude that the nation has experienced significant support, thanks to action taken by the Government since 2010 that has allowed UK plc to increase the UK employment rate by 2 million jobs. Naturally, with the definition of productivity being the unit of output per unit of labour, that may have impacted on overall productivity rates, but I believe we stand right to increase our productivity as long as the Government stand their course on the route ahead.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Marcus John Hudson Fysh (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow such excellent maiden speeches, not least that of my hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden), who gave us a wonderful tour of the massage parlours of his constituency The amount of value we create in our work is key to what we can expect to earn over the long term. We heard earlier this afternoon from the Secretary of State for Education how this Government are focused on getting great teaching and skills to our young people to give them the best chances in life. I support that and am keen to ensure that recent improvements on that front in my Yeovil constituency are consolidated and taken further. I want more funding for school places in my county of Somerset, too, so that we can build a better future for our children, developing their talents to their full potential. I also support the plan for productivity mentioned earlier by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. We have a plan for productivity, not just platitudes as espoused by the Opposition. Differences in productivity levels between G7 nations have been relatively static over time, reflecting widely different structural characteristics. There are significant measurement problems in the statistics—for example, in picking up the intangible benefits of changing technology. Productivity growth has dipped in America, too, in recent years, so it is not just a British disease, as some are trying to claim, although we should look to America as an example of an economy with higher productivity growth on average than we have managed over time Recessions are bad for productivity growth, as capital for investment becomes scarce, so confidence in further recovery is definitely a factor for us to encourage. We also must be careful not to restrict our service businesses while we attempt, rightly, to encourage manufacturing. Services are a huge competitive advantage that we have as a nation, and we need to get them firing on all cylinders and respect their contribution It is fantastic news that 2 million net new jobs have been taken up since 2010. In the past year alone, the unemployment count in my constituency has come down by 24%. That is an outstanding achievement and it shows that my constituents are finding positive answers to their questions on employment, even if there is more to do and we need always to prepare for an uncertain future. We must not be complacent and we must certainly do what we can to enable employers to make the jobs they offer more rewarding, improve the number and quality of apprenticeships, and support businesses with the right policy settings Of course, we can do better as a nation, and that is important to the national finances, as well as to personal pay packets. People in the south-west want to cut red tape, extend investment allowances, keep taxes low, invest in infrastructure such as the dualling of the A303 and A358, connect people with broadband, including those in rural areas, and reopen rail connections in Yeovil and Chard, to get people and their work and ideas to where they need to be.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Technology
Simon James Hoare (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to mention broadband, an issue that affects many constituencies. Does he agree that an increase in mobile telephone signal is also very important in rural areas, to help small and medium-sized businesses?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Labor
Marcus John Hudson Fysh (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a very good point, and we are pursuing it in the south-west People are not just productivity statistics from a survey in a report. What suits one person will not necessarily suit another, and it is wrong to say that lower-paid work is necessarily bad or should not be respected. It is a good thing that all types of jobs are being created. Things are getting better in our country and we must resist talking down the great achievements and sacrifices our people have made over the testing period we are coming out of. We can all play our part to build a better future, and if we do the right thing the statistics will follow.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. It is also a pleasure to speak after the excellent maiden speeches we heard from the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Harry Harpham) and my hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden) It is important to look at productivity in the context of the overall economy. Productivity is not a means to an end, but an end itself. We must look at the reasons we have difficulties with productivity. We must avoid short-term thinking, let the positive effects of the past five years take hold and take a long-term approach to making progress on the issue. The overall economy is doing well; employment is up by 2 million since 2010, and in 2014 ours was the fastest growing major economy. On 8 June the CBI said that we should expect "solid, steady and sustainable growth" with rising incomes. Business investment is making a strong contribution to growth. It is important that we do not damage what we have already achieved. We need to look at the facts behind the data, including the fact that oil and financial services are skewing the figures on overall economic and productivity gains The key determinants of productivity are competition, regulation, investment and education. In my experience, the best way to drive productivity, efficiency and innovation is by encouraging competition. When a business person is faced with stiff new competition, time and again they raise their game, work harder and motivate their staff. Some 70,000 new private sector businesses were created in the previous Parliament, creating 2.3 million jobs. The Government are doing what they do best: setting the stage and letting business get on with creating the jobs On regulation, there is now less red tape in this country than there was five years ago. In 2010 we had the second highest level of red tape in the G7, but we now have the lowest. Some 50% of businesses want the Government to focus on reducing regulations. Labour introduced six new regulations every day. We must have a Government who understand business. This Government want to cut the costs of red tape by £10 billion over this Parliament We need to encourage investment. We must invest in human capital, have better links with schools and universities and move over time towards the living wage. Tax credits are an employment subsidy, and subsidies create complacency and inertia. We need a long and stable tax regime. Capital allowances must be consistent, because businesses need a long-term understanding.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a brilliant point about tax credits. As a small business owner, I was shocked to receive a call from one of my staff saying that they did not want the pay rise I had just emailed them about because they would lose so much in tax credits. Is this not a crazy dependency culture that is holding back productivity?
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. We need to move towards a living wage over time. Rushing to a living wage too quickly might put jobs under pressure, but I believe that we should move towards a living wage over time and in consultation with business We need low and consistent corporation tax, which is what the Government are delivering. Governments should do less, not more, and the tax regime should be the same not only in one year’s time, but in 10 years’ time. Of course we need investment in infrastructure, such as roads, railways and broadband. That is particularly important for those in the hardest-to-reach areas, because rural businesses want a level playing field with those in urban areas. The VAT threshold of £82,000 is prohibitive, because businesses that want to invest but do not want to go over the threshold do not take on new employees and do not invest in new technology for fear of losing a significant amount of their profits In conclusion, statistics are important, but they are no substitute for judgment. Our judgment, and the judgment of the people of Britain, is that things are getting better. This is certainly the most business-friendly Government I have ever known. They have done the right things to give businesses the chance to start, grow, prosper and produce more.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Harry Harpham) and my hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden) on their wonderful maiden speeches. I am grateful for this opportunity to speak in today’s debate on productivity The central issue is how we as a Government can help our people to fulfil their potential and how we can unleash Britain’s core strengths as a nation through hard work, aspiration and creativity. That is what productivity means in reality. It involves a commitment to helping hard-working people to get on in life, and that is what this Government have been doing Opposition Members are right to say that productivity is key to living standards and our public finances, but they are wrong to suggest that all is doom and gloom. Productivity rose last year after plummeting during Labour’s recession, which caused the biggest fall in living standards for a generation. That recession meant banks not lending to our businesses and it led to our biggest drop in productivity since 1974. Incidentally, that was when a previous Labour Government gave us the three-day week. This Government have been clearing up that mess. To coin a phrase, we are the Government who have been fixing the roof while the sun has been shining.
Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Sue-Ellen Cassiana Braverman (Conservative, Centre-right): Improving our country’s productivity is the key to raising standards for everyone, and our future prospects depend on it. Although I welcome this debate on productivity, I must say that the context of the productivity puzzle cannot be ignored. There is no doubt that the past five years have seen record levels of employment, with 2 million more people in work. In my constituency, local employers such as Lucketts Travel and Eaton Aerospace are contributing to the local economy through more jobs, more apprentices and increases in wage rates. Pay is now rising at its fastest rate since the economic crisis. But we need to be measured in our analysis, and I echo the comments made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) in his analysis of the causes of the productivity puzzle. It is no coincidence that the productivity collapse happened at about the same time as the financial crash, leading to a sudden shrinkage in the financial sector. The decline in North sea oil output in recent years is another contributory factor to the fall in productivity That is the context to our productivity challenge. The solution is at the heart of this Government’s agenda. First, our massive investment in infrastructure will hugely contribute to productivity. On that, we may be talking about the £1.4 billion package of 18 new road schemes in south-east England, improving the A27 corridor, which runs through my constituency, and working on junction 10 of the M27. We are witnessing the boldest and most far-reaching roads programme for decades, which will unlock economic potential in the region. We may be talking about the £7 million Government investment in the Solent enterprise zone, just over the border in the neighbouring constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage), whom I congratulate on her efforts to get more investment from Government. The centre of excellence in engineering and manufacturing advanced skills training—CEMAST—opened there last year, and hundreds more young people will be trained in technical and vocational skills We could also mention the reform to our tax regimes—to corporation tax, the jobs tax and to business rates. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses can now operate more efficiently. This investment, this package of reforms and the tax changes put enterprise, jobs and aspiration at the heart of our work in government, so that productivity will increase and brand Britain will continue to thrive.