§ 16. Mr. Tom HarrisTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures the Government are taking to improve productivity in British industry. [68415]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Government have set out a comprehensive strategy for raising productivity across the economy. The Government's approach centres around maintaining macroeconomic stability to allow businesses and individuals to invest for the future and implementing microeconomic reforms to address the barriers that prevent markets from functioning efficiently. The Government's reforms target five key areas that can affect the rate of productivity growth—competition, enterprise and innovation, skills, investment and the productivity of public services.
Budget 2002 and the 2002 Spending Review take forward a wide range of measures to address historic weaknesses in each of these areas.