Downing Street Says » 2006

» Thursday, February 9, 2006

Child Support Agency

Asked to describe the Government's position with regards to the CSA, the PMOS said that we had to go back to what the Prime Minister had said in the House where he had been very clear that we should not blame the problems of the CSA on the people who worked there. They had done the best they could. We should be realistic and recognise that the task they had been asked to do was not one for which the organisation had been fit for. Therefore today was about introducing some operational improvements in the interim, but recognising that we needed a brand new system and that was why we were bringing in someone, not to review the system, again, but to design a fundamentally new system, whatever that might be.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (3)

Whips’ Office

Asked for some information about the changes to the Whips' Office, and why were they moving the Whips' Office from the Cabinet office to the Privy Council, the PMOS replied that because it was something that had been proposed by Sir Gus O'Donnell, it was better that the journalist spoke to the Cabinet Office.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Abu Hamza

Asked why the authorities hadn't dealt with Abu Hamza sooner, the PMOS said that the problem in terms of the case were to do with evidence. The important thing was that prosecution had been brought and the other important thing was that we were moving to make it easier to bring prosecutions in this kind of case. The Government was addressing the areas in terms of incitement and glorification and that was why next week would be important.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Terror

Asked if the Prime Minister shared the Home Secretary's views that the Opposition were in danger of weakening the powers that dealt with terrorists, the PMOS replied that he would rather not talk about the opposition. What the Prime Minister hoped was that nobody would do anything to dilute what he believed was necessary at this stage. That was a clear signal from Parliament to the courts that the glorification of terror in whatever form, and incitement to terror, whether indirect or direct, was against the law, and therefore, should be actionable. What we had said was that we needed a clear signal from Parliament, and that was what we hoped would come.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Danish Cartoons

Asked how we were tightening up security of our embassies following the violence over the Danish cartoons, the PMOS said that the Foreign Secretary had outlined our position on the cartoons, but it was best if he didn't feed the publicity around the cartoons by adding anything to what had been said already.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Falklands-Venezuela

Put that President Chávez had remarked recently that the British Army had gone to the Falklands to "trample over Argentinean soldiers" and that it should really be turned over to Argentina, the PMOS said it was not to anybody's benefit to get into a war of words on this. The Government's position on the Falkland Islands had been stated many times, and that remained the position.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Progressive Government Trip

Asked why was the taxpayer funding the Prime Minister's trip to South Africa for the Progressive Government summit, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that in terms of Progressive Government, that was the way it had always been done. However, in terms of this trip, there would still be meetings with other Heads of Government vis a vis trade matters, especially with people such as President Lula of Brazil, who the Prime Minister would not have a chance to meet otherwise. The Prime Minister would also still have a bilateral meeting with President Mbeki, which again would be Government business.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign

Asked to what extent the Prime Minister thought the good news was down to the police operation and whether he wanted it to continue, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said the police operation had been designed to show the police how the new powers could be applied and to embed good practice in applying them. The figures showed the results, which, so far, seemed to be encouraging and we would like that to continue.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Education Bill

Asked if there were any details on amendments to the ID Cards Bill, the PMOS replied that the changes that were being suggested in terms of how the Commons voted on it was a change in process, not a change of outcome. The Government's commitment was always that there would be a vote before compulsion was introduced. All that had changed was the way in which that vote would take place, nothing else. As the PMOS understood it, we were putting down about five motions to overturn twelve Lords' amendments, and therefore, the core proposals in the Bill remained exactly the same.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Education Seminar

Asked what was the purpose of the Education seminar tomorrow, the PMOS said that the seminar would build on a smaller seminar that was held at the DFES two weeks ago for organisations that had an interest in becoming, backing, or participating in Trusts. People were interested in how the Trusts came about, and the purpose of the seminar was to "flesh out" what the arrangement might be.

Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Original PMOS briefings are © Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Click-use licence number C02W0004089. Material is reproduced from the original 10 Downing Street source, but may not be the most up-to-date version of the briefings, which might be revised at the original source. Users should check with the original source in case of revisions. Comments are © Copyright contributors. Everything else is © Copyright Downing Street Says.

The unofficial site which lets you comment on the UK Prime Minister's official briefings. About us...

» Thursday, February 9, 2006

Child Support Agency

Whips’ Office

Abu Hamza

Terror

Danish Cartoons

» Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Falklands-Venezuela

Progressive Government Trip

Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign

Education Bill

Education Seminar

Search

Supported by

Recent Briefings

Archives

Links

Syndicate (RSS/XML)

Credits

Enquiries