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747516

registered interest
date	03/07/2017
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve productivity in British commerce and industry; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	2569
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2017 answer text <p>In January 2017 we launched our Industrial Strategy Green Paper, ‘Building our Industrial Strategy’.</p><p>The objective of our modern Industrial Strategy is to improve living standards and drive economic growth by increasing productivity and making sure that growth is spread across the whole country.</p><p>We have set up a £23 billion National Productivity Investment Fund to drive improved productivity across the country; including a £4.7bn increase in investment for science, research and innovation – the biggest increase in any Parliament in almost 40 years.</p><p>We are also supporting a new private sector initiative led by Sir Charlie Mayfield with up to £13 million grant funding over three years to raise business awareness of productivity and to provide practical tools to businesses to improve productivity.</p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 06/07/2017 14:55:39 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

512953

registered interest
date	14/04/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what definition the Government uses of productivity.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	34146
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2016 answer text <p>The government uses a number of measures to examine productivity, looking at output per hour, output per worker and output per job. While the measure used will depend upon the circumstances, output per hour is generally regarded as the best measure.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 19/04/2016 16:20:14 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

453667

registered interest
date	22/02/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) carried out on the structural factors in the economy that have contributed to the scale of the productivity gap.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	27800
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2016 answer text <p>The Treasury has commissioned no external research on the productivity gap. The Treasury’s analysis is laid out in Annex A of the Productivity Plan, which was published in July 2015 (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443898/Productivity_Plan_web.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443898/Productivity_Plan_web.pdf</a>, pages 77-82). This draws on evidence from academics, the Bank of England and others.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 25/02/2016 17:15:27 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

453668

registered interest
date	22/02/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the scale of the productivity gap.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	27801
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2016 answer text <p>The government set out its understanding on the reasons for the productivity gap in Annex A of the Productivity Plan, published in July 2015 (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443898/Productivity_Plan_web.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443898/Productivity_Plan_web.pdf</a>, pages 77-82).</p><p> </p><p>A number of factors contribute to the UK’s lower level of productivity compared to the most productive countries in the world, including lower levels of investment, especially in research and development. There are a further set of explanations for the shortfall in performance post-crisis, including impaired resource allocation in the economy, the disproportionate impacts on some high productivity sectors, substitution of labour for capital, labour hoarding in the initial phase of the recession and measurement issues.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 25/02/2016 17:13:24 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

390167

registered interest
date	15/07/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of zombie companies on national productivity; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	7261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2015 answer text <p>Zombie companies are companies that are allowed by banks to delay repayment of a loan so that they effectively only pay the interest due rather than the full loan amount. Bank of England analysis of this ‘loan forbearance’ suggests that only a relatively small proportion of small businesses are in receipt of any form of forbearance (around 6% of SME borrowers in 2013). The Bank concludes that forbearance by banks on loans to small businesses would therefore appear to account for only a small proportion of the weakness in aggregate UK productivity. The Bank’s analysis was published in the Bank’s quarterly bulletin which can be found on the Bank of England’s website.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 23/07/2015 10:57:14 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

390168

registered interest
date	15/07/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of employee ownership on national productivity; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	7262
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2015 answer text <p>We are not aware of any studies into the link between employee ownership and national productivity. Research published in 2014 by the Employee Ownership Association showed that businesses with employee ownership (where employees have both a meaningful financial stake and a say in how the business is run) had a year-on-year increase in productivity of 4.5%.</p><p> </p><p>The Government worked closely with experts, including from the Employee Ownership Association, in delivering the 2012 Nuttall Recommendations to reduce barriers to increasing the number of employee ownership businesses. This work was completed in 2014.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 21/07/2015 14:32:07 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

381137

registered interest
date	15/06/2015
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the UK's productivity statistics.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	2547
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2015 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading East answering member printed Mr Rob Wilson question first answered 18/06/2015 12:50:56 answering member 1556 label Biography information for Mr Rob Wilson attachment 1 file name PQ 2547 Sir Soames.pdf title UKSA Letter to Member - UK's Productivity Stats
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

224638

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the increase in the UK's total factor productivity was in each of the last 15 years.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	225955
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2015 answer text <p>The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published experimental estimates of Multi-Factor Productivity (MFP), which is the terminology the ONS uses for total factor productivity. This is shown in Table 1.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Table 2 displays an index of these data, showing cumulative growth in MFP over the last 15 years.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Annual Growth Rate of Multi-Factor Productivity </strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1999</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2000</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2001</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2002</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2003</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2004</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2005</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2006</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2007</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2008</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>0.96</p></td><td><p>2.02</p></td><td><p>0.87</p></td><td><p>1.13</p></td><td><p>2.71</p></td><td><p>1.21</p></td><td><p>0.27</p></td><td><p>1.54</p></td><td><p>0.58</p></td><td><p>-0.94</p></td><td><p>-4.62</p></td><td><p>0.91</p></td><td><p>0.39</p></td><td><p>-1.81</p></td><td><p>-0.53</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2: Multi-Factor Productivity (1998=100)</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1999</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2000</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2001</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2002</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2003</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2004</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2005</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2006</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2007</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2008</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>101.0</p></td><td><p>103.0</p></td><td><p>103.9</p></td><td><p>105.0</p></td><td><p>107.7</p></td><td><p>108.9</p></td><td><p>109.2</p></td><td><p>110.7</p></td><td><p>111.3</p></td><td><p>110.4</p></td><td><p>105.7</p></td><td><p>106.6</p></td><td><p>107.0</p></td><td><p>105.2</p></td><td><p>104.7</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Source: Multi-factor Productivity (experimental), Estimates to 2013, ONS (Jan 2015) <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-386314" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-386314</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 09/03/2015 16:47:34 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

171900

registered interest
date	05/01/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to increase productivity.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	219763
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2015 answer text <p>I refer my Rt.Hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 9 December 2014, UIN 217275.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 08/01/2015 16:22:03 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

167973

registered interest
date	04/12/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Productivity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve productivity.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	217275
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>Government policy focuses on delivering growth; this in turn partly depends on longer term improvements to productivity. As such, much of the Government’s economic policy is about raising productivity, including but not limited to:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Tax cuts</strong>: Government is actively working to reduce the tax burden where possible to help give businesses the confidence to invest and grow. Initiatives announced at this year’s Autumn Statement include a doubling of the Small Business Rate Relief for a further year, and a continued cap on the annual increase in business rates at 2% from April 2015 to March 2016. More widely the UK now has the lowest headline corporate tax rate in the G7 and 4th lowest in the G20. Budget 2013 announced further measures to reduce the main corporate tax rate to 20% by 2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Deregulation</strong>: Government departments are working together to simplify and reduce the regulatory burden for UK businesses through the Red Tape Challenge, One In, One Out , and One In, Two Out policies. This will create a regulatory environment in which businesses have the confidence to invest and grow. This work is already showing significant signs of success; excluding EU regulation, the estimated annual net cost of regulation to UK business has fallen by £1.5bn since 2011.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Skills</strong>: Ensuring employers have access to workers with the right skills plays a crucial role in enhancing the UK’s productivity. This Government has driven up participation in education, employment or training for 16-24 year olds since 2011. Apprenticeship participation has risen by 77% from 2009/10 to 2012/13, and there have been over 2 million Apprentices started since 2010.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is giving employers more direct control over the design and delivery of training solutions to address skills shortages and improve business performance through the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) and its successor Employer Ownership Fund (EOF). The Government is completing round 2 of EOP which will be worth £238m and has announced targeted activity for the auto supply chain and engineering under EOF.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Infrastructure</strong>: High quality infrastructure is essential for supporting productivity growth. Delivering the right infrastructure at a local, regional and national level, across the UK, is therefore key to the government’s long-term economic plan. Since 2010, this Government has completed 55 major roads and local transport projects, completed major improvements to Kings Cross station as well as 400 other stations, opened Heathrow Terminal 2 and introduced £22 billion of private sector investment in water assets.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The National Infrastructure Plan for 2014 outlines a £466 billion plan for the UK’s infrastructure, of which £189 billion is future investment. This includes £15 billion of road improvements, £38bn investment in rail and £46 billion investment in the gas and electricity network.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Science and Innovation</strong>: The government funds and supports innovation in science, technology and engineering to help the UK’s high-tech industries to thrive. This has already seen £600m of government funding committed to the development and commercialisation of eight great technologies, a further £106m investment in new Centres for Doctoral Training, which will train more than 750 new students, and £42m in the creation of the Alan Turing Institute – a world-class research institute specialising in Big Data science. Details of the government’s on-going commitment to science and innovation will feature in the soon to be released Science and Innovation Strategy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 17/12/2014 16:23:19 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 32571 answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark answering member 1578
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching