Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Economic Growth

Tuesday 14 November 2023 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed the Government's policies are increasing economic growth.
  • The OBR stated that the spring Budget would revise potential output upward by around 0.2 per cent.
  • The Government committed to conducting a full economic assessment before proceeding with any changes affecting local steel production.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chris Elmore Lab Bridgend
Economy
Context

The question arises from the need to assess the impact of government policies on economic growth following recent assessments.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the implications for his policies of the economic growth rate?

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

Our policies are increasing economic growth, as confirmed by the Office for Budget Responsibility following last year's autumn statement and the spring Budget. However, to secure higher, sustainable, long-term growth, it is necessary to bring down inflation.

Answered
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Q2 Chris Elmore Lab Bridgend
Economy
Context

The OBR previously assessed the Chancellor's last budget and concluded it had no long-term impact on potential productivity.

Question

Will the Office for Budget Responsibility make a similar assessment of his next Budget in terms of its impact on potential productivity?

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

The OBR stated about the spring Budget: 'the overall impact on GDP is around 0.2 per cent in 7-28. This is the largest upward revision we have made to potential output within our five-year forecast as a result of fiscal policy decisions taken by a Government'.

Answered
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Q3 Martin Vickers Con Brigg and Immingham
Economy Employment
Context

There is concern that proposed changes at the steelworks in northern Lincolnshire could result in redundancies and significant negative impacts on the local supply chain.

Question

Will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that the Government will not proceed with any support for those changes until a full economic assessment of the impact on the local area has been carried out?

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

We are committed to steel production in the United Kingdom and making sure that any changes necessary will support local communities. I reassure him that no decisions will proceed without a full economic assessment of the impact on the local area.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The commitment does not specify when the assessment will be completed or what criteria will determine whether to proceed with support for changes at the steelworks.

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Q4 Darren Jones Lab Bristol North West
Economy
Context

The National Infrastructure Commission stated that the Government's slow and poor decision-making hinders private investment in infrastructure.

Question

Why does the Chancellor think his Government have been making bad decisions slowly for quite so long?

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

Since reforms to asset pooling in 2015, UK and global infrastructure investment by pension funds has grown from £1 billion to around £27 billion. Solvency 2 reforms could unlock a further £100 billion-worth of investment.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer discusses infrastructure investment rather than addressing why the government's decisions have been slow and poor.

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Q5 Darren Jones Lab Bristol North West
Economy
Context

The Labour Party has proposed several plans to drive economic growth and investment across the country.

Question

Today, I am making available to the Chancellor for free a raft of plans by the Labour party. Would he like them?

Answer from Jeremy Hunt

Funding plans that increase borrowing by £28 billion a year could lead to higher bills for families, higher energy prices, and higher mortgages.

Not addressed: The answer does not address the offer of Labour's economic growth plans but criticises their funding approach.

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