Downing Street Says

NHS PFI

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:45:58 +0000

Asked what the Prime Minister thought of claims that the NHS was facing a 63 billion bill for PFI hospitals that are only worth 11billion, the PMS replied that we did not recognise the way the figures have been presented. It is inappropriate to add up annual fees and compare them with the capital cost. The unitary fee includes maintenance and in many cases services such as catering, cleaning and portering. As the Department of Health have said thanks to PFI the Government has been able to undertake the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the NHS, opening the one hundredth scheme in October 2008.

original source.

Lobbying

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:45:57 +0000

Asked what the Prime Minister thought of proposals to tighten the rules on lobbying, withdrawing the Ministerial pension of anyone breaching the rules and doubling the waiting period before Ministers can take jobs related to their portfolio, the PMS said that the Government has brought in tight regulations covering Ministers who leave Government and go in to the private sector. These are subject to regular review.

original source.

EU

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:45:56 +0000

Asked what the Prime Minister hoped to achieve to in relation to the Eurozone at the informal Brussels Summit, the PMS replied that the focus of the meeting will be economic reform and climate change. The Prime Minister will present his proposals for jobs and growth for the European economy. Asked if the problems of Greece will be discussed, the PMS said it is an informal summit and the discussions will be at a broader level about jobs and growth.

original source.

Expenses

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:45:55 +0000

Asked if the Prime Minister has bowed to pressure to withdraw the whip from the MPs charged in relation to the expenses, the PMS said that was a matter for the Labour Party.

original source.

President Karzau Phonecall

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:58 +0000

The Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that the Prime Minister spoke to President Karzai yesterday. President Karzai expressed his warm appreciation to the Government for organising the London conference on 28 January. The Prime Minister and President Karzai also discussed ongoing operations in Helmand. They welcomed the leading role played by the Afghan Security Forces in preparing for those operations and agreed that Afghan leadership was fundamental to the success of the operations.

original source.

MPs’ Expenses

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:57 +0000

Asked what the Prime Minister’s thought about Parliamentary immunity, the PMS said that the Prime Minister believed that no MP was above the law. Criminal law applied to MPs in the same way as it applied to anyone else. Parliamentary privilege was not intended to cover issues like these. The Leader of the House’s comments this morning reinforced the Prime Minister’s view that if MPs committed an offence they had to face trial. The Prime Minister had been at the vanguard of getting rid of the old discredited system.

Asked if the Prime Minister had a view on whether the intervention by the Leader of the Opposition could prejudice the trial, the PMS said that it was not for him to comment on what other party political leaders said; the Prime Minister made clear last week that he was angry about what had happened and had taken steps to remove the right for those MPs to stand.

Asked about the comments made by the Leader of the House of Commons said this morning, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had made it very clear that no MP was above the law, which was exactly what the Leader of the House said. These individual cases would be looked at in more detail by the appropriate authorities. The Prime Minister had been leading the reform of the expenses system and looked forward to a new system.

Asked if the Prime Minister believed that anything said so far could prejudice the trial, the PMS said that no one should ever say anything to prejudice anyone’s trial regardless of who they were. The Prime Minister’s view was clear; no MP was above the law.

Asked if the Prime Minister supported legislation to clarify the law on privilege, the PMS said that the DPP had already said that it was for the courts to decide if privilege could be used as defence and we would legislate if necessary to clarify the position.

Asked if the Prime Minister supported the Liberal Democrats’ proposal to amend the Constitutional Reform Bill, the PMS said that it was a question of whether or not it was necessary. The important point was that no MP was above the law.

original source.

Iran

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:56 +0000

Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about recent events in Iran, the PMS said that there had been some mixed messages coming out of Iran over the weekend and the Prime Minister had always been clear that we needed to see proper dialogue between Iran and the IAEA. Iran continued to face a choice about whether it engaged with the international community or became more isolated. We remained concerned about the development of Iran’s nuclear programme if it was not for civil use.

original source.

NHS Speech

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:55 +0000

Asked about the Prime Minister’s speech on the NHS this morning, the PMS said that the Prime Minister spoke this morning about the importance of the central role the NHS played and the importance of the NHS guarantees, including the cancer guarantee, the waiting time guarantee and the GP access guarantee.

original source.

Afghanistan

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:54 +0000

Asked if the Prime Minister felt that there was a point at which the number of deaths in Afghanistan was no longer a price worth paying, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was always very saddened by any death in Afghanistan and his thoughts were with the families of those who had fallen. Our campaign in Afghanistan had a number of different phases and the Prime Minister felt we had to continue to develop the military, security and training aspects of the campaign.

original source.

Bananas

blognumberten — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:53 +0000

Asked about the story in The Sun today about the Prime Minister eating nine bananas a day, the PMS said that the Prime Minister’s view was that a balanced diet was important and portions of fruit and vegetable on a daily basis could only lead to good health.

original source.