§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the impact on productivity of the growth of the service sector relative to the manufacturing sector. [87838]
§ Alan Johnson[holding answer 17 December 2002]: Concern is sometimes expressed that the growth of the service sector may slow overall productivity growth because measured productivity growth is lower in the service sector than in the rest of the economy. However this conclusion, which emerged in academic research in the 1960s, has been called into question by later research. Moreover a number of studies show that the UK service sector has considerable potential to catch up with best-practice productivity levels elsewhere. The Government are keen to encourage productivity growth and narrow the productivity gap in all sectors of the economy.