Oral Answers to Questions

Russell Brown Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. As the Office for Budget Responsibility has said,

“Productivity growth is the only sustainable source of real income growth in the long term”.

If we do not have a skilled work force, employers will not come here and therefore will not be employing people, which means that we will not experience the increase in productivity that would feed through into higher wages.

[Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)]

22. I am bitterly disappointed by the Chief Secretary’s response to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East (Sheila Gilmore). He basically said that people on low wages were being written off. [Interruption.] If the Chief Secretary checks Hansard tomorrow, he will see that. In my area, wages are 24% lower than the national average. These people do not qualify for the—

[Mr Speaker]

Is that the end of the hon. Gentleman’s question? Has he reached the end of the sentence?

[Mr Brown]

My apologies, Mr Speaker. The question to the Minister is this: what additional support can her Government give people in low-wage economy areas?