Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Mak Excerpts
Tuesday 18th July 2017

(7 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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We do take notice of what the independent pay review bodies say. We have just approved the recommendations of the teachers pay review body and of the nurses pay review body. Listening to their recommendations, the pay review body for the NHS said:

“We do not see significant short-term nationwide recruitment and retention issues that are linked to pay.”

We followed that advice and gave the pay accordingly.

Alan Mak Portrait Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)
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Increases in the tax-free personal allowance since 2010 have put £1,000 into the pocket of each basic rate taxpayer, including those who work across the public sector. Will the Chief Secretary continue to help public sector workers to keep the money they earn, through lower taxes?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The worst thing that we could do is to support the Labour party’s policies, which would, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, lead to the highest levels of taxation in peacetime history.