Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to ‘Public Sector Finances, July 2015’ published by the Office for National Statistics, said:

“With the national debt now more than £1.5 trillion and the costs of debt interest so far this year rising to £17.9 billion, the Chancellor should not be complacent about the need for sustained productivity to deliver healthier public finances in the long run.

“When ‎the OECD has warned of the impact of ‎'continued weak productivity’, and productivity has been revised down, there should be a far greater focus on the pressures on exporters and infrastructure constraints facing Britain’s economy.”