§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are being taken to help improve manufacturing employment and the share of GDP produced by the manufacturing sector. [13002]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Government are committed to creating and maintaining the right climate for businesses of all kinds to flourish, invest and grow. Since 1997, the Government's central economic objective has been to achieve high and stable levels of growth and employment. To this end, they have pursued macro-economic and enterprise policies which promote business activity, and which should contribute to higher productivity. The Government have been determined that we will not return to the damaging cycle of boom and bust, which created so much uncertainty and trapped businesses in a cycle of low investment and low productivity.
Specific measures of benefit to manufacturing, in support of this objective, have been detailed in successive Budgets, pre-Budget reports and various White Papers, including "Opportunity for All in a World of Change" (Cm 5052) and "Excellence and Opportunity—A Science and Innovation Policy for the 21st Century" (Cm 4814).