Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts
Tuesday 7th September 2021

(3 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Steve Barclay Portrait Steve Barclay
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As my right hon. Friend knows, the Prime Minister will make a statement on this matter shortly, but what he and I would agree on is that the best way is to grow the economy, drive productivity, get people into work and skill them up through work. That is what the plan for jobs is doing, alongside the £600 billion investment in infrastructure over the course of this Parliament as part of levelling up and our commitment to net zero. We need to grow the economy, skill up the workforce and get those who have been impacted by the pandemic back into work as quickly as possible.

Harriett Baldwin Portrait Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
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I wonder if the Chief Secretary has had the opportunity to read a recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that says:

“Material living standards held up surprisingly well through the pandemic…This is an astonishing outcome given the scale of economic disruption”.