§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the United Kingdom's productivity rate compared with that of the United States; and if she will make a statement. [2159]
§ Ms HewittThe Government monitor the productivity gap with the US and other leading industrial countries as part of our Public Service Agreement commitments. The most recent assessment can be found in "Productivity in the UK: Enterprise and the Productivity Challenge", which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and I published on 18 June 2001. This document sets out the next steps the Government will take to narrow the productivity gap.