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Tuesday Volume 627 18 July 2017 No. 19 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 18 July 2017 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2017 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 689 18 JULY 2017 690 Elizabeth Truss: We have made sure that basic rate House of Commons taxpayers are paying £1,000 less tax by raising the personal allowance. We are also introducing the national Tuesday 18 July 2017 living wage, bringing in a £1,400 rise in take-home pay for the lowest earners. The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean) (Con): The important PRAYERS thing for ensuring that people get a wage from an employer is to make sure that they have a job. Will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury welcome the record fall [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] in unemployment to a 42-year low, particularly among young people, which is giving them much better BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS opportunities in Britain than those available in most MIDDLE LEVEL BILL other European Union countries? Motion made, That the promoters of the Middle Level Bill, which originated Elizabeth Truss: My right hon. Friend is right. We in this House in the previous Session on 24 January 2017, may now have the lowest levels of unemployment since 1975, have leave to proceed with the Bill in the current Session according thanks to the economic policies pursued by this Government to the provisions of Standing Order 188B (Revival of bills).— to improve skills and infrastructure, and to take sensible (The Chairman of Ways and Means.) decisions on public sector pay. Hon. Members: Object. Laura Pidcock (North West Durham) (Lab): As has To be considered on Tuesday 5 September. been clearly demonstrated, the Government are celebrating RICHMOND BURGAGE PASTURES BILL [Lords] falling unemployment without any critical analysis of Lords message (11 July) relating to the Bill considered. the nature of the employment being created. Many residents of North West Durham are in work that Resolved, exacerbates their financial difficulties because their pay That this House concurs with the Lords in their Resolution.— is low, their terms and conditions are poor, and they do (The Chairman of Ways and Means.) not have regular hours. Will the Minister update the UNIVERSITY OF LONDON BILL [Lords] House on the number of people who are currently Lords message (11 July) relating to the Bill considered. working on zero-hours contracts? Will she also accept that looking at employment figures in a vacuum does Resolved, nothing to help us to understand whether people are That this House concurs with the Lords in their Resolution.— any more secure or any better off? (The Chairman of Ways and Means.) MOUNCHER INVESTIGATION REPORT Elizabeth Truss: Fewer than 3% of people are on Resolved, zero-hours contracts and, as Matthew Taylor recognised, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, That many people want that flexibility so that they can she will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid combine their work with the other things in their lives. before this House a Return of a Paper,entitled Mouncher Investigation We need to ensure that people have the skills to get Report, dated 18 July 2017.—(Graham Stuart.) better jobs in the future, and that is exactly what this Government are investing in. Oral Answers to Questions Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con): Will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury join me in welcoming the fact that 75% of the 2.8 million jobs created since 2010 are TREASURY full-time jobs, and that zero-hours contracts account for just 3% of all jobs? The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked— Wages Elizabeth Truss: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Is it not amazing that not one Labour Member has 1. Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP): welcomed the fact that we have the lowest unemployment What fiscal steps he is taking to help increase the since 1975, or that we have lower youth unemployment? average level of wages paid by employers. [900546] In fact, the Opposition model their policies on countries The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss): such as Greece, which has exceptionally high youth The key thing that we can do to increase productivity is unemployment, and they take for granted the progress to ensure that we invest in education and improve skills. that we have made over the past seven years. We have more people going to university and doing apprenticeships, and we are investing in our rail and John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab): First, roads. let me welcome any increase in jobs in our society, but when it comes to commenting on wages, does not the Martyn Day: Unlike the Scottish Government, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury agree that it ill becomes UK Government voted for the public sector pay a multi-millionaire earning £145,000 a year, admittedly cut. Moreover, this Government’s so-called national in a temporary job, and living in two grace-and-favour living wage is not based on the cost of living. What new properties at the taxpayer’s expense to attack public measures will this Government bring in to provide sector workers—our hospital cleaners, nurses, teachers people with a wage that they can live on? and firefighters—as being “overpaid”? Public sector 691 Oral Answers 18 JULY 2017 Oral Answers 692 workers’ pay has fallen on average by £4,000 in the first control, the OBR now forecasts that debt will start six years of this Government. One in five NHS staff are falling next year and will be below 80% of GDP by forced to take a second job, and teachers are facing a 2021-22. further cut to their salaries of £3,000 by 2020. Does she not think that the Chancellor should just do the right James Cartlidge: Those figures are welcome, but will thing and apologise? my right hon. Friend confirm that were the Government to pursue a policy of wiping all outstanding student Elizabeth Truss: Yet again, the right hon. Gentleman debt, that would cost in excess of £100 billion and cause is not giving the House the full picture of what is the national debt to surge? Will he also confirm that the happening with public sector wages. Last year, teachers’ biggest beneficiaries by far would be the top-earning pay went up by 3.3%. More than half of nurses and graduates in the country? other NHS workers saw a pay rise of over 3%, and the Mr Hammond: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. armed services saw a pay rise of 2.4%. The cleaner he He might have added that were anyone to suggest that talked about was employed not by the public sector but they were able to do that, they could be accused of by Serco. The right hon. Gentleman needs to get his practising a deception on the people to whom they were facts right. offering that proposal. The cruelty of that would become apparent when it would have to be admitted that the John McDonnell: That is true—the Government proposal could not possibly be delivered. We face a debt privatised the jobs. challenge in this country, and we cannot borrow our I note that the Chief Secretary did not dispute the way out of debt. The Opposition would do well to fact that the Chancellor said that staff were overpaid. acknowledge that. Stronger growth and sound public The Chancellor tried to justify his attack on public finances are the only sustainable way to deliver better sector workers by trying the classic divide and rule public services, higher real wages and increased living between public and private sector workers, citing public standards. sector pensions. Is the Chief Secretary aware that those supposedly generous pensions across several professions Michelle Donelan: Does my right hon. Friend agree pay on average the princely sum of just £5,000 a year, that last week’s OBR study shows that the debt level is and that low pay has forced many public sector workers 89% of GDP, highlighting that we must continue to be to opt out of their pension scheme? Eleven per cent. of responsible with the public finances to weather any those in the NHS have opted out; if that figure continues future uncertainty and to ensure that the Wiltshire to rise, the whole scheme could be undermined. Will the economy continues to thrive? Chief Secretary recognise the damage that the Chancellor is causing and lift the pay cap so that public sector staff Mr Hammond: My hon. Friend is right to express can have some hope of a fair wage settlement—and, concern about the vulnerability created by the high level yes, a decent future pension? of debt. As the OBR made clear last week, that debt means that if the economy were to face an external Elizabeth Truss: The right hon. Gentleman still has shock, we would not be in a position to respond in the not acknowledged the truth of the figures that I cited—the way that we would ideally like. That is why we have to 3% pay rise for over half of nurses and the 3.3% rise for get debt down, and the only way to get debt down is to teachers. He simply will not look at the facts. The reality get the deficit down. That means responsible fiscal is that public sector workers are, rightly, paid in line policy, not the kind of rubbish we hear from Labour with the private sector to allow the public and private Front Benchers.