Sterling
Debate between Lord Leigh of Hurley and Earl of Courtown
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the noble Lord will be perfectly well aware that our economy has changed over the years. As I said earlier, the manufacturing sector has seen productivity increase by over three times faster than the UK economy as a whole over the past 10 years. As noble Lords will be aware, what is becoming more and more important is the service economy, our advances in the digital age and the technology that we are producing. That is what is really important and it is how the economy will grow further.
Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that productivity, as measured by output per hour, is largely inappropriate for huge chunks of the British economy, particularly services? More importantly, productivity is affected by employment. In a period of full employment, productivity is bound to go down as the least productive people are employed. That has happened because this Government have a higher rate of employment, whereas Labour Governments have always left office with a higher rate of unemployment than when they came into power.
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, my noble friend makes a good point. He talked about the link between productivity and employment, which throws up different statistics. That is why it is so important that the review of the ONS comes forward with a more accurate way to measure productivity.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Funding
Debate between Lord Leigh of Hurley and Earl of Courtown(9 years ago)
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The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, as the noble Lord will be aware, not long ago we had an interesting debate on the responsibility to protect, to which I was able to respond from this Dispatch Box. It is up to noble Lords to put down debates on this subject at any time, and I am sure that the noble Lord will attempt to do so.
Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that it is not just about the amount of the allocation but about the efficiency with which the money is spent? Will he join me in welcoming the comments made by many businessmen, both from SMEs and from large businesses, about the dramatic change since 2010 in the FCO’s ability to help exporters abroad?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, my noble friend is quite right. Perhaps I should underline the facts about the good work being done by UKTI. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has helped to deliver some £37.6 billion-worth of business wins for UK industry. We also have the GREAT campaign, which emphasises that this country is a great place to visit, a great place in which to study and a great place to do business in.