Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast

Martyn Day Excerpts
Wednesday 25th November 2020

(3 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rishi Sunak Portrait Rishi Sunak
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My hon. Friend is right about the importance of social care workers. He will know that they are not formally part of public sector pay settlements, but many of them are national living wage workers, as he knows, so they will benefit from the increase of 2.2% that we are putting in place for next year. He will also know that we have already made a start in the Budget on our desire to raise the national insurance threshold, delivering cash benefits to people of about £100 this year, but it is something that we will keep under review for future fiscal events.

Martyn Day Portrait Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP) [V]
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The Chancellor has already allowed UK unemployment to rise to 4.8% and expects it to rise further, with redundancies at a record high. Will he now admit his mistake in leaving the 3 million without furlough or the self-employed help scheme and give contractors, freelancers, creators and others the help that they so desperately deserve?

Rishi Sunak Portrait Rishi Sunak
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The OBR and others have said that our economic interventions have helped to keep down unemployment and protected jobs, and that is part of the reason why our unemployment rate is lower than that in Italy, France, Spain, Canada and the United States.