Downing Street Says

The Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) started by giving a read out of Cabinet; the Prime Minister invited Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of World Wide Web and appointed in June to advise the Government, and Professor Nigel Shadbolt, to update the Cabinet on their work on how to make its public data accessible and useful for as many people as possible. This initiative was set out in Building Britain’s Future and was introduced at Cabinet by Stephen Timms. The initiative was beneficial to the UK as firstly, it would help create jobs in the sectors of the future, which was important for the British economy.

Secondly, it would increase the transparency of Government and restore the accountability of public bodies in the way the data was made available. This was not just about publishing reports, but the raw data that underlined them.

Thirdly, it would empower citizens to achieve greater efficiency in public services.

The Cabinet was very supportive of the next phases of this work, which would be about encouraging departments to produce the data required to take the initiative forward.

Lord Mandelson briefed the Cabinet on GM Europe and the next steps, and would be discussing the issue with some of his Ministerial counterparts today.

The Foreign Secretary updated the Cabinet on the process of the Afghanistan elections, particularly the role of the Electoral Complaints Commission and the International Electoral Commission. He stressed the fact that whoever led the next government in Afghanistan would have to lead a consensus and develop programmes to tackle security, governance and economic development.

Lord Mandelson updated the Cabinet on his recent visit to China. He said it was a very important relationship, both bilaterally and multilaterally, and that a number of trade deals were signed whilst he was in China.

Lord Mandelson also talked about G20 preparations with China, which they were very positive about.

The Prime Minister summed up the preparations for the G20, and stressed the importance of continued internationally coordinated action, to see the global economy through to a sustained economic recovery.

Lord Adonis reminded the Cabinet about the importance of the Cycle to Work initiative, which the Department for Transport were working on in terms of policy ideas.

Asked if Lord Mandelson had talked about Copenhagen with the Chinese on his recent visit, the PMS said that Lord Mandelson spoke to the Chinese about climate change when he was in China.

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» Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Cabinet

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