Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-06-17
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to make some progress Over the past five years, and now in government alone, we have taken action in three areas that all hon. Members should welcome. First, we have been rebalancing the economy geographically so that wealth, opportunity and productivity are spread more evenly across the country. In 2013, London enjoyed 29% higher productivity than the UK average. We are supporting other regions to get ahead and stay ahead, which is why the Chancellor has launched the northern powerhouse to connect up our great cities in the north. Its population of 15 million, its great industrial and manufacturing heritage and its strong reputation for science and technology provide a big foundation for the northern powerhouse to be built on Foreign investors also have confidence in the northern powerhouse concept. We have seen massive investments all over the north, with Hitachi, Nissan and Rolls-Royce in the north-east, Siemens in Hull and East Yorkshire, the airport city in Manchester, and the new deep-water port in Liverpool. These are the strong foundations on which the northern powerhouse is being built Secondly, we are rebalancing the economy by sector, supporting manufacturing, science and technology rather than just relying on financial services. We must, of course, champion our financial services sector across the entire UK—it is a world leader and a big source of tax revenue—but as we saw during the last Labour Government, we need a more broad-based economy with high-quality manufacturing, technology and science at its heart. That is why this Government have created the Catapult centres, a network of world-leading centres designed to transform the UK’s innovation and productivity in seven areas, including manufacturing and cell therapy. Thirdly, we are cutting red tape for businesses and reducing the burdens on hard-working people. In my constituency of Havant, for example, manufacturing and engineering businesses such as Colt, Eaton Aerospace and Pfizer are benefiting from the most competitive rate of corporation tax in the G7, allowing them to train apprentices, to export, to innovate and to boost productivity. Through the red tape challenge, we have removed or amended more than 3,000 regulations. We have also cut taxes for hard-working people, allowing them to keep more of the money they earn, which is the best possible way of boosting productivity I also commend the Government for appointing the noble Lord O’Neill of Gatley as the new Commercial Secretary to the Treasury. I heartily recommend that Members read his maiden speech, which focuses on productivity. I have engaged with his lordship on a number of initiatives in the City to bring to this country best practice from fast-growing economies such as China, and I know that he will bring a huge amount of experience to the debate. This Government are committed to our economic recovery, with a long-term economic plan that has already ensured that Britain has the fastest growing economy in the western world. I look forward to the publication of the Government’s productivity plan, which will set out further steps to strengthen our economy and boost productivity in the years to come.