» Friday, January 8, 2010Weather
Asked what action the Government was taking in regards to the weather, the PMS said that this was a very complex situation. The Government could prompt action such as the convening of the Salt Cell, and ensure that the prioritisation of salt supplies was put in place. Coordination was important and the sharing of information helped to build up a picture of the situation. The discussion at Cabinet this morning informed everyone of what was happening on the ground and it helped the Government as a whole to understand where it needed to focus its support. Asked how many days we had left in terms of gas supply, the PMS said that we were lucky as a country as we had both an indigenous gas supply and our own storage. We had storage of existing gas that we could access and the flow of gas from the North Sea. As the National Grid had already said, the matter of having a certain number of days gas supply left was meaningless because the concept of storage in the UK was different to other countries where the gas supply was not indigenous. Ed Miliband was in close contact with the National Grid. Asked if there would be any reassurance from the Government to companies who were experiencing problems with gas supply due to the interruptible contract, the PMS said that it was for individual companies who signed these interruptible contracts to take a view as to what they would do in the event of their contract being interrupted. Asked if the Prime Minister would deplore any move from any of the energy companies to increase fuel bills as a result of the cold weather, the PMS said that it was for the individual companies to determine what their pricing policy should be, but within the provisions of the Energy Bill there were particular conditions that were set out for those who were fuel-poor. Put that it was dangerous to not salt hard shoulders, the PMS said that it was a matter of prioritisation. For details it was best to speak to DfT. Briefing took place at 10:00 | Search for related news 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. |
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