§ 25. Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the competitiveness of the UK economy in terms of productivity. [11355]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Government make regular assessments of UK competitiveness and productivity and are committed to increasing UK productivity at a faster rate than that of their major competitors. Budget 2001 gave the most recent assessment of UK productivity, and Government policy in this area was set out in "Productivity in the UK: Enterprise and the Productivity Challenge", published in June this year. The forthcoming pre-Budget report will provide a further update on UK productivity relative to our main competitors.