Public Spending and Employment (Hansard, 4 March 2004)

HC Deb 04 March 2004 vol 418 c1060W 1060W

14. Dr. Desmond Turner
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the relationship between levels of public spending and levels of employment. [158480]

§ Dawn Primarolo
UK public spending as a percentage of GDP is close to the OECD average, but the UK has one of the highest employment rates in the OECD. Across OECD countries there is no systematic relationship between levels of public spending and levels of employment.