Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 24th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

7. What comparative assessment the Government have made of the level of spending on public services in the UK and other developed countries.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

Last year, public spending was 38.9% of GDP, which equates to about £28,500 per household. This is comparable with other leading countries.

[Ms Ghani]

Does the Minister agree that it is due to this Government’s responsible management of the public finances that we are able to spend more on education than Germany and Japan, and more on defence and policing than any other European country?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We spend more per student on education than Germany or Japan. Because of our management of the public finances, we have been able to push £1.3 billion more of education spending to the frontline, where it is going to make the most difference in classrooms.

Public Sector Pay Cap

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Elizabeth Truss

Wednesday 5th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have good rates of pay across the civil service. We need to make sure that that is sustainable, so we can carry on making sure that we have good services in both the civil service and the wider public sector.

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

The public are rightly fed up with politicians playing politics with the NHS, so let us listen to what the NHS pay review body has evidenced and said. Is my right hon. Friend aware that the NHS pay review body stated:

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

[Elizabeth Truss]

That is exactly why we have independent pay review bodies: they give us impartial advice and make recommendations. We accepted in full the recommendation of that body.