Question
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Budget Statement of 8 July 2015, Official Report, column 338, what estimate he has made of how many of the 60,000 jobs which the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates will be lost as a result of the introduction of the National Living Wage are based in each (a) sector and (b) region.
Answer
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast 1.1million new jobs will be created over the forecast period. This includes their estimate of the impact of the new living wage. This forecast is not broken down by region. The OBR also estimate the cost to businesses will only be 1 per cent, whilst Budget also announced a cut corporation tax to 18% and an increase in the Employment Allowance.