Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the (a) potential limitations of GDP growth as a measurement of the development of the UK economy and (b) potential merits of using alternative measurements such as the (i) Genuine Progress Indicator, (ii) Green Gross Domestic Product and (iii) Human Development Index.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
GDP measures the total value of all of the goods made, and services provided, during a specific period of time. GDP is important because the higher a country’s GDP is, the more resources are available to people in the country – goods and services, wages and profits. Growing GDP sustainably means the government is better equipped to invest in public services such as the police, NHS and schools.
Whilst it remains one of our most important economic indicators, the Government recognises that GDP has its limitations and should not be seen as an all-encompassing measure of welfare. The ONS produce separate measures of subjective well-being, introduced as part of the 2010 National Well-being Programme, to start measuring our progress as a country, not just by how our economy is growing, but by how our lives are improving. This programme encompasses a broad range of measures including, happiness, health, the environment and personal finance.
The Government has provided the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with an additional £25 million to help implement the recommendations of Sir Charles Bean’s 2016 Review of Economics Statistics, including through an initiative called ‘Beyond GDP’ that aims to address the limitations in GDP by developing broader measures of welfare and activity.
As a result of this work, the UK became one of the first countries to publish natural capital accounts as part of its National Accounts (The Blue Book). The ONS is continuing to develop these accounts and also published human capital estimates for 2004-2018 as part of their wellbeing measures. The Dasgupta Review considers that a broader measure of ‘inclusive wealth’, comprising Natural, human and produced capital, can provide insights into a nation’s sustainable economic progress over time. In response to the recommendations of the Dasgupta review, HM Treasury provided further funding to the ONS to continue improving its natural capital estimates. This will improve their relevance for policy making, and ensure continued consideration of a broader measure of economic activity than just GDP.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support households using a wellbeing economy approach given the increased cost of living.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The government understands that people are worried about the cost of living challenges ahead. That’s why decisive action has been taken to support households across the UK through cost of living challenges ahead, whilst remaining fiscally responsible.
On 17th November, the Government has announced further support for next year designed to target the most vulnerable households. This cost of living support is worth £26 billion in 2023-24, in addition to benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age households and people with disabilities. This support for 2023-24 is in addition to the generous support already in place to support households this winter.
A 'wellbeing economy' starts from the idea that public interests should determine economics. The government is continuing to invest in the UK’s human and environmental capital to support individual wellbeing and societal strength. To help key public services continue to deliver, the government is prioritising further funding in the next two years to support the healthcare system and schools. The government has also recommitted to tackling climate change and delivering our net zero emissions targets by 2050.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic impact of sight loss.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No recent assessment has been made.
In August 2021, Deloitte Access Economics estimated that in 2019, the total economic cost of sight loss was £36 billion per year in England. This included an estimated £3.4 billion in healthcare system costs, £7.8 billion in productivity losses and other financial costs, and £24.8 billion in reduced wellbeing.
Local authorities maintain information on individuals registered with a visual impairment and have an obligation to assess them promptly and provide support. There are also more than 300 eye charities in the United Kingdom which provide support for those with sight loss and many hospital eye clinics have liaison officers and optometrists specialising in low vision. The development of integrated care systems and the National Ophthalmic Eye Care Recovery and Transformation Programme is ensuring coordinated social and clinical care from prevention and screening to accessible treatment and support for visual impairment.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government has taken to understand the economics of preventing mental health problems in order to determine possible savings to the NHS and across Government departments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In 2017 we published ‘Commissioning Cost-Effective Services for Promotion of Mental Health and Wellbeing and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health’, which outlined interventions and approaches which demonstrate efficacy and a return on investment for health and social care services and providers.
We have been working with other Government Departments, including HM Treasury and using stakeholder evidence to understand the economic cost of mental health problems. The call for evidence launched earlier this year aims to understand which Government actions can support mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of osteoporosis on women's (a) health, (b) quality of life and (c) economics.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We know that osteoporosis disproportionately affects women and can have a significant impact on their health, quality of life and ability to participate in economic activity.
On 23 December 2021, we published ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’, informed by the call for evidence. This sets out our ambitions to improve the health and wellbeing of women in England and reduce disparities. We have committed to explore areas of healthcare in which disparities between men and women are greatest, including long-term conditions such as osteoporosis. We will publish the Women’s Health Strategy in spring 2022.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many working days have been lost to staff sickness in his Department in each month of the last five years, by directorate.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
We do not report on sick days monthly, we do however have a return that we do annually. The number of sick days by directorate in each of the last 5 years can be found in the following tables:
2015/16
Directorate | Sick Days |
Business and International Tax | 135 |
Corporate Centre | 657 |
Economics | 107 |
Enterprise & Growth | 61 |
Financial Services | 270 |
Financial Stability | 71 |
Fiscal | 103 |
International | 428 |
IUK | 127 |
Ministerial & Communications | 148 |
National Infrastructure Commission | Fewer than 5 |
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions | 207 |
Public Services | 345 |
Public Spending | 227 |
Strategy, Planning & Budget | 68 |
Treasury Legal Advisors | Fewer than 5 |
Department | 2954 |
2016/17
Directorate | Sick Days |
Business and International Tax | 172.5 |
Corporate Centre | 668.5 |
Economics | 102 |
Enterprise & Growth | 76 |
Financial Services | 291 |
Financial Stability | 131.5 |
Fiscal | 68.5 |
International | 318.5 |
IUK | Fewer than 5 |
Ministerial & Communications | 211 |
National Infrastructure Commission | 27 |
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions | 504.5 |
Public Services | 272 |
Public Spending | 190.5 |
Strategy, Planning & Budget | 99 |
Treasury Legal Advisors | Fewer than 5 |
Department | 3132.5 |
2017/18
Directorate | Sick Days |
Business and International Tax | 103 |
Corporate Centre | 595 |
Economics | 119 |
Enterprise & Growth | 133 |
Financial Services | 400 |
Financial Stability | 213.5 |
Fiscal | 250 |
International | 425.5 |
Ministerial & Communications | 347.5 |
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions | 178.5 |
Public Services | 190 |
Public Spending | 180.5 |
Strategy, Planning & Budget | 71.5 |
Treasury Legal Advisors | Fewer than 5 |
Department | 3207 |
2018/19
Directorate | Sick Days |
Business and International Tax | 170.5 |
Corporate Centre | 850 |
Economics | 108.5 |
Enterprise & Growth | 116.5 |
Financial Services | 578.5 |
Financial Stability | 135 |
Fiscal | 174.5 |
International | 437.5 |
Ministerial & Communications | 148 |
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions | 259 |
Public Services | 268.5 |
Public Spending | 342.5 |
Strategy, Planning & Budget | 50 |
Department | 3639 |
2019/20
Directorate | Sick Days |
Business and International Tax | 245 |
Corporate Centre | 906.5 |
Economics | 366 |
Enterprise & Growth | 176.5 |
Financial Services | 490.5 |
Financial Stability | 132.5 |
Fiscal | 241 |
International | 607 |
Ministerial & Communications | 326.5 |
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions | 176 |
Public Services | 366 |
Public Spending | 602 |
Strategy, Planning & Budget | 71 |
Department | 4706.5 |
HM Treasury takes the wellness of its staff seriously. Wellness is incorporated within the Treasury’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing policy. Every quarter, staff complete pulse surveys to assess progress against wellbeing criteria from the annual People Survey. Directors and Deputy Directors take action relating to these results to improve their staff’s wellbeing and stress levels.
HM Treasury has the following support in place for those that are suffering due to stress:
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to reports of a low-income debt crisis emerging in the UK as a result of redundancies and income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government has delivered unprecedented support for living standards during this challenging time, protecting livelihoods with the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and temporary welfare measures amongst other support.
With the resurgence of COVID-19, the Government has announced further targeted support via the Winter Economy Plan, including the Job Support Scheme, which will provide employees who work at least 33% of their normal hours with at least 77% of their salary.
The Government has provided Local Authorities with £500 million to support people who may struggle to meet their council tax payments this year. The Government expects that this will provide all recipients of working age local council tax support with a further reduction in their annual council tax bill of £150 this financial year.
The Government recognises that some people are struggling with their finances at this challenging time. To help people in problem debt get their finances back on track, an extra £37.8 million support package is being made available to debt advice providers this financial year, bringing this year’s budget for free debt advice in England to over £100 million.
In May, the Government also announced the immediate release of £65 million dormant assets funding to Fair4All Finance, an independent organisation that has been founded to support the financial wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances. The funding is used to increase access to fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services for those in financial difficulties.
From May 2021 the Breathing Space scheme will offer people in problem debt a pause of up to 60 days on most enforcement action, interest, fees and charges, and will encourage them to seek professional debt advice.
In addition, at the Budget in 2018, the Government announced that it would undertake a feasibility study into a no-interest loans scheme in the UK. The Government has been examining the possibility of a no-interest loans scheme to help some of the most financially vulnerable access credit when they need it and welcomed the feasibility study conducted by London Economics which was published in March this year.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the all-party parliamentary group on wellbeing economics' report entitled A spending review to increase wellbeing, published 24 May 2019; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
I have noted the All Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics report and the Treasury regularly receive representations on all aspects of public spending. The forthcoming Spending Review will allow us to take a systematic view of all public spending and introduce reforms in line with the Government’s vision for the UK economy and public services.
This will include working closely with departments to identify priorities and inform decisions on how to direct resources to improve people’s opportunities over the long-term.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will take steps to monitor the roll out of a universal basic income pilot by Sheffield City Council; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We are aware of experiments in universal basic income (UBI) around the world and we do not believe there is a case for UBI. We believe Universal Credit is the right approach for the UK because it simplifies the benefit system, promotes and incentivises work, including progression in work, and provides targeted support to those in most need in a way that is affordable.
In February 2018 the OECD concluded in its survey of the Finnish Economy that the complexity of the current benefits system in Finland was an obstacle to stepping into work and that the basic income experiment, whilst possibly enhancing work incentives, may increase poverty and would require increasing income taxation by nearly 30%. More recently, findings from the evaluation of the Finnish basic income experiment show some improvement in perceived wellbeing, but that it did not increase the employment level of the participants in the first year of the experiment. The OECD also developed a scenario for Finland inspired by the UK’s Universal Credit (UC). They found that this ‘would consistently improve work incentives and reduce complexity, with limited changes to the income distribution and limited fiscal cost.
This OECD blog post is particularly useful on the OECD’s work to compare UBI and UC.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the role of the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in delivering the Health and Wellbeing legacy of the London 2012 Olympics; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is a joint venture between the public and private sectors, led by Legacy Park Ltd with partners Sheffield City Council, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It aims to be a model of social inclusion bringing new jobs and communities together. For example, the National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Sheffield, which opened in September 2015, brings together clinical services, sport and exercise specialists and health professionals to make it easier for physical activity to become part of the treatment for a range of chronic health conditions. This model has delivered a more efficient and effective service for staff and patients and increased capacity to deal with musculoskeletal problems by 50%. It has also delivered significant improvements in National Health Service staff health and wellbeing through the workplace wellness programme. An independent evaluation by York University Centre for Health Economics estimated an economic return on investment of 300%.