Lord Randall of Uxbridge
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Unemployment
Lord Randall of Uxbridge Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Randall of Uxbridge
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the projected level of unemployment over the next 12 months.
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office and the Treasury (Lord Agnew of Oulton) (Con) [V]
My Lords, we must accept that the coronavirus will have a very significant adverse impact on our economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility reference scenario assumes that the unemployment rate will rise to 10% in the second quarter of 2020. However, the Government have announced unprecedented support for public services, workers and business to help mitigate the impact of the current economic emergency. As the OBR said,
“the cost of inaction would ultimately have been … higher.”
Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Con) [V]
I thank my noble friend for his Answer. Sadly, we will hear of many redundancies in the coming weeks and months. Can I ask Her Majesty’s Government to be bold in initiating a range of green infrastructure projects that will provide much-needed jobs as well as improving the nation’s quality of life?