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House of Lords Official Report Vol. 769 Wednesday No. 127 16 March 2016 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Royal Assent....................................................................................................................1843 Death of a Member: Lord Briggs ................................................................................1843 Questions Economy: Productivity ................................................................................................1843 Taxation: Income Tax Threshold ...............................................................................1845 Local Government Finance Settlement: Transitional Grant ....................................1847 Refugee Crisis: European Anti-migrant Parties ........................................................1849 Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Order 2016 Motion to Approve.......................................................................................................1852 Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges (Scotland) Act 2014 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 Motion to Approve.......................................................................................................1852 Trade Union Bill Report (First Day)......................................................................................................1852 Renewables Obligation Closure Etc. (Amendment) Order 2016 Motion to Approve........................................................................................................1914 £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldhansrd/index/160316.html PRICES AND SUBSCRIPTION RATES DAILY PARTS Single copies: Commons, £5; Lords £4 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £865; Lords £600 LORDS VOLUME INDEX obtainable on standing order only. Details available on request. BOUND VOLUMES OF DEBATES are issued periodically during the session. Single copies: Commons, £65 (£105 for a two-volume edition); Lords, £60 (£100 for a two-volume edition). Standing orders will be accepted. THE INDEX to each Bound Volume of House of Commons Debates is published separately at £9·00 and can be supplied to standing order. All prices are inclusive of postage. The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Ind UU Independent Ulster Unionist Lab Labour LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2016, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1843 Royal Assent[16 MARCH 2016] Economy: Productivity 1844 decisions might be made more quickly and effectively House of Lords to provide the basis for improved productivity. Finally, Wednesday 16 March 2016 in order to help smaller firms, which need help, will the Minister turn his attention to the HMRC decision 3pm to break off the valuation check service this March? Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Birmingham. Lord O’Neill of Gatley: My Lords, the noble Lord asked a number of questions and I shall plump for the Royal Assent middle one. I assume that many Members of the House have not had a chance to digest the details of 3.05 pm today’s Budget, but I am very pleased to say that we are accelerating our infrastructure plans, on which The following Acts and Measures were given Royal there is already quite impressive independent evidence. Assent: I could highlight a number of things that have been Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and announced today. One that is very dear to my heart is Adjustments) Act, that we are accelerating—compared with before, and Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act, taking on board the full recommendations of the independent National Infrastructure Commission—so- Childcare Act, called HS3. In particular, the target is for the train Education and Adoption Act, journey time from Leeds to Manchester to drop to Welfare Reform and Work Act, 30 minutes. Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure, Lord Tebbit (Con): My Lords, does my noble friend Diocesan Stipends Funds (Amendment) Measure. agree that we could set an example in this House of increasing productivity if we asked rather shorter Death of a Member: Lord Briggs questions? Announcement Lord O’Neill of Gatley: My Lords, as a novice and 3.06 pm relative newcomer, I sometimes quite like long questions The Lord Speaker (Baroness D’Souza): My Lords, I as it gives me less time to answer them. However, as a regret to inform the House of the death of the noble general intention, it would be welcomed. Lord, Lord Briggs, on 15 March. On behalf of the House I extend our condolences to the noble Lord’s Lord Davies of Oldham (Lab): My Lords, the Minister family and friends. is a specialist on productivity and therefore obviously agrees with the American economist who said that productivity, in the long run, is the only thing that Economy: Productivity matters. Of course, it certainly was the basis of the Question success of the British economy during the Industrial Revolution. How is it, therefore, that the UK is still 3.06 pm sixth out of the G7 countries and this Government are Asked by Lord Harrison making no progress, apart from vague announcements about infrastructure which rarely come to fruition? To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment We are making no progress on improvements in they have made of the United Kingdom’s productivity productivity per worker at all. Until we do so, we will in relation to that of other European Union and not be able to clear our debts and have a position in G20 states. the world that others respect. The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Lord O’Neill of Gatley: My Lords, there are many O’Neill of Gatley) (Con): My Lords, UK productivity complex aspects to the ongoing productivity puzzle levels hover around the middle of the park in relation around the world, and I do not have time to speak to to the G20 and the EU28. We face a significant, many of the issues that the noble Lord implied in his ongoing and long-standing productivity gap with the question. I remind the House that next week we will most productive nations of the world, such as the have a debate on the Budget, when I will have the United States. The Government have of course recognised chance to go into some of the issues in more detail. that and, within the overall fiscal framework, are However, in a recent discussion with independent directors working to remedy the problems and fulfil the challenge at the Treasury, I was particularly pleased to hear they set themselves in last summer’s productivity plan, them commend the Government’s efforts to boost Fixing the Foundations. productivity through their policies and to address some of the long-term, powerful weaknesses of the UK. Lord Harrison (Lab): My Lords, given that UK productivity is, by 29%, worse than French or German Baroness Sharp of Guildford (LD): My Lords, is the productivity and that in the vital area of financial Minister aware that there is a strong link between services, according to the Office for National Statistics, innovation and productivity and that Britain continues we have deteriorated badly over the past six years, is to lag well behind our competitors in business R&D? there any prospect that this Government might redouble Can he tell the House precisely how the Government some of their own productivity? For instance, in the are proposing to encourage businesses to increase area of infrastructural services—rail, road and air— their contribution to R&D? 1845 Economy: Productivity[LORDS] Taxation: Income Tax Threshold 1846 Lord O’Neill of Gatley: My Lords, among the many it will increase again to £11,000, and in today’s Budget complexities that I hinted at is the separate evidence the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that about the UK’s standing in the world on a number of it will rise by a further £500 in April 2017 to £11,500. matters. Particularly in our universities, the UK’s A considerable number of taxpayers will benefit from performance in R&D is rising in the relevant tables, these changes. which contrasts with some of the measurements of productivity. That is among the many puzzling aspects Baroness Seccombe (Con): My Lords, that is an of ongoing developments here and elsewhere. amazing figure, which I am sure we will all appreciate. It is especially important for young people.
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