Downing Street Says » 2007

» Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Overseas convictions of British Nationals

Asked if the Prime Minister had a view on the news that the Home Office had sat on files concerning British people convicted abroad, and had not entered them onto the national computer, the PMOS said that the term 'sat' was no one he recognised. The Home Office would be issuing a statement in due course. The PMOS added that as the story was just breaking, his information was that some of the information from other countries that had been available in the past had been patchy. Secondly, this was the whole reason why the system had been regularised under the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and transferred authority to ACPO.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Specialist schools

Asked for the Prime Minister's response to a committee report which said that the provision of specialist school services was very patchy, the PMOS Lord Adonis had said to the LEAs that if they wanted to make any changes to the provision of specialist schools in their areas, then they had to ensure that what they replaced them with was a better service. This reflected the fact that there wasn't a Government policy of closing specialist schools and that the rate of closures had fallen under the current administration compared to the previous one. The PMOS went on to say that there would always be a need for a mix of provision, for some children inclusion in the main stream system would be the answer, but for others, specialist schools per se would be the answer. No one answer would address the needs of every child and this was illustrated in this case. There were unique circumstances that demanded unique answers.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Somalia

Asked if the Prime Minister had been informed or consulted by President Bush prior to the American attack on Somalia since the UK and US were partners against terrorism, the PMOS said it was a US operation aimed at those who were responsible for the 1998 terrorist operations against US forces in that area. However, it was a matter for the US.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Northern Ireland

Asked if the Prime Minister was confident that Lord Morrow and the charge he is leading against sexual orientation legislation wouldn't affect other legislation the PMOS that equality legislation in Northern Ireland had always been separate from legislation in England. There is a consultation process going on in terms of Great Britain and we would let people know the outcome of that.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Russia/Belarus

Asked about the reliability of supply to the rest of Europe, and Chancellor Merkel in comment had said that it would not do Russia's reputation any good, the PMOS replied that the EU at Lakhti made clear its concerns about the need for secure energy supplies. The EU was in conversation with both Russia and Belarus about this issue. The UK had taken steps recently, including agreeing a deal with Norway to try and secure supplies in the future. It was clearly an issue which was of rising concern around the world.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

EU Commission Strategic Energy Review

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the Prime Minister strongly welcomed the statement by the EU Commission today on its strategic Energy communication and climate change review. There was a direct line between today's announcement and the Hampton Court summit which we held in October 2005, as well as Gleneagles in July 2005 and the joint letter that the Prime Minister had published with the Prime Minister of Holland at the Lahkti summit last Autumn. What we particularly welcomed was the emphasis that the EU Commission put on not just security of energy supply, but also, liberalisation of the European energy market, as well as the measures that it announced and supported on climate change and energy efficiency. The PMOS said that what this could lead to was further progress being made at the EU spring Council in March, with that leading onto G8+5 discussions of a post-2012 framework post-Kyoto in July. It was a very welcome development.

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

Iraq

Asked if the Prime Minister welcomed the briefing from the White House today that 22,000 extra troops would be sent to Iraq, and that the whole of the country could be under Iraqi control by the end of the year, the PMOS replied that he would prefer to wait until President Bush had spoken later tonight. The PMOS reiterated that we would wait for the American proposals, and he underlined that in terms of the situation in Baghdad and Basra, as we had said when we visited recently, the situation on the ground was very different in the two cities. Therefore, the policy in Basra would be dictated by the conditions on the ground in Basra.

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

Home Office/criminal records backlog

When asked if the Prime Minister believed that the Home Office was not fit for purpose, the PMOS answered that John Reid would be making a statement in the House at 1230, and people should wait for that statement and for Dr. Reid to set out the position. The problem had arisen because of the circumstances the PMOS had set out yesterday.

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

Road Charging Petition

Asked what happens to petitions on the Downing Street website, the PMOS replied that they became part of the policy process and part of the overall context in which decisions were taken. He added that they were a welcome addition to the ability of citizens to communicate directly with government. There was no axiomatic process in which a petition would be submitted and the government then agreed, that was not the way it worked.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (361)

» Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Special Educational Needs Schools

Asked to clarify the Government's policy on special educational needs, as journalists had been told that it was not the Government's policy that special educational schools should be closed, however, the Government had advised local authorities that children educated in special schools should fall over time, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the Government's policy was that whatever was right for the child was what parents had a right to ask for.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)

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» Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Overseas convictions of British Nationals

Specialist schools

Somalia

Northern Ireland

Russia/Belarus

EU Commission Strategic Energy Review

Iraq

Home Office/criminal records backlog

Road Charging Petition

» Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Special Educational Needs Schools

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