Mr. David Hegarty:

The point raised about second earners and the idea that the way they are treated in the tax system might be a deterrent to participation has been raised by various external commentators, including the OECD. There probably is an issue there and other people have certainly identified it as an issue.

On the issue of participation, we are undertaking a study of labour market participation across cohorts with low participation rates under the Action Plan for Jobs this year. The action plan is focused on raising participation. We will study cohorts where participation rates are lower compared with other countries, with a view to ascertaining the policy issues raised.