Downing Street Says » 2004

» Monday, February 23, 2004

Iran

Asked the Government's view on the Iranian elections the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS), said that the Foreign Secretary had said this morning on the way into the GAERC in Brussels that the elections were flawed, in light of the fact that a large number of candidates were prevented from standing. Asked why, given that we already knew the elections were being undermined, we had allowed Prince Charles to go to Iran recently, the PMOS said that no one disputed that Iran had made considerable progress towards greater political freedom in the last ten years, although clearly this was a set back. It had been made clear at the time of Prince Charles' visit that it had not been a political visit as such, but humanitarian in the wake of the terrible earthquake at Bam.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Drug Testing in Schools

Asked if the Prime Minister believed he had the support of most head teachers for the Government's proposals for random drug testing in schools, the PMOS said that clearly there had been some comment from organisations representing teachers over the weekend. The Prime Minister did believe he had the support of parents in tackling the menace of drugs. It was important to recognise what this policy was and what it wasn't. It was something we had been working on for some time, and guidance would be out shortly - next month. It was the result of extensive consultation with the teaching profession, the police and those working in the field. This was a discretionary power. We were not saying that all children would have to be tested at the same time as the school register was taken, which was how this had been interpreted in some quarters. This was about giving head teachers the option, where they felt that such powers would be beneficial, to use them. This was an extension of the Government's desire to tackle the issue of drugs in schools. For example in 2002 we introduced guidance for "one-strike-and-you're-out" for students found dealing drugs on school premises. There were now a number of police officers attached to schools, working with them 5 days a week. The Government had also put a significant investment into drugs training for teachers. The decisions to act would quite rightly sit with schools but the Prime Minister believed it was right that we gave head teachers the powers that they might find useful. Asked if it was workable given the implications of permission, the PMOS said that we should wait for the guidance on this, but clearly this was something which had been put together in consultation with the teaching profession, the police and those working in the field. It was not falling on them from a clear blue sky courtesy of SW1. We were working in partnership with them.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (13)

Guantanamo Bay

Asked if there would be a Parliamentary statement on the release of the five detainees, the PMOS said that it was not impossible Jack Straw would reprise his statement of last week to the House. Clearly he was in Brussels today.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Council Tax/Pensions

Asked for a view on the issues concerning the case of a pensioner who had refused to pay her council tax, the PMOS said as he understood it, those living on the basic state pension alone should be entitled to pensioner credit and people in those circumstances should also be entitled to some rebate on their Council Tax. The Government was aware that there were over a million pensioners entitled to some relief on their Council Tax who were not claiming it, which was why there would be a campaign next month to encourage people to apply for it. Asked about the particular case, the PMOS said it was up to the individual concerned to find out what her entitlements were, in conjunction with the authorities in the area.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

EU Accession States/Immigration

Asked why Accession state citizens should be treated any differently from any other members of the European Union, the PMOS said it was best to wait for the Home Secretary's statement this afternoon. Asked when the final decision about the strategy had been taken, the PMOS said that there had been a meeting last Tuesday where the final details were worked out and it was agreed that David Blunkett would make a statement today as we had announced at the time. Asked if the strategy had been cleared with Brussels, the PMOS said he was sure we would not be doing anything incompatible with any obligations we might have. Asked what the principle behind the statement would be, the PMOS said that everyone was aware of the issues involved. There were issues in relation to the fact that there was free movement of citizens in the enlarged European Union. There were issues in relation to people coming to the UK as "Benefit Tourists" and making sure people didn't abuse the benefits system here. There were issues in relation to people working here. He didn't think he was telling journalists anything they did not know already but they only had a few more hours to wait until the statement.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Bin Laden

Asked for an update on the search for Osama Bin Laden, the PMOS said that that it remained active.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

» Monday, February 16, 2004

EU Accession Immigration

Asked if the Prime Minister would be meeting other members of the Cabinet to discuss the terms of immigration from EU Accession countries the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that since it was a cross-departmental issue journalists shouldn't be surprised that there were various meetings going on. However he was not going to highlight any particular one of them and it was wrong to do so. This was an issue on which the Government's position was very clear. As of May 1st people from Accession countries will have a right to travel throughout the EU and that applied not just to this country but also to other countries such as Germany, Italy and France. The question therefore was whether you allowed people to seek work in a country such as the UK which has virtually full employment and where, as the CBI had highlighted, there were skill shortages, while at the same time safeguarding the UK against benefit shopping and against changing circumstances. That was the balance that we had to strike, that was what Ministers were discussing and that was what we would address when we make our announcement at the appropriate time.

Asked if the Government was considering an increase in managed migration, the PMOS said that the Government was in favour of managed migration and always had been. The need for it was highlighted by the skills shortages identified by the CBI and was, as he had said at an earlier briefing not just a problem in the South-East but in Scotland as well. There was an issue about how you made sure that there was the right supply of skills that the economy needed. That was an issue in its own right as was safeguarding the position in terms of benefits and also making sure that if circumstances were to change we could deal with any problems that arose. Asked if that was retreating from the Government's original position concerning the 'right to work', the PMOS said no. The right to work was one that we recognised and we believed was right. In terms of detail journalist would have to wait until an announcement was made.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Council Tax

Asked to clarify the Government's position on Council tax reform, the PMOS reminded journalists that the Prime Minister had addressed this at the liaison committee. The Prime Minister had said that everyone should admit that there was no perfect solution to the council tax issue, it was a difficult issue and one that we had to think through. There was however a review going on and will continue until the summer. Various options were being considered but he was not going to list them or speculate as to which one would eventually be favoured because it was better to wait for the outcome of that review. Asked to say whether there would be anything concrete before the summer, the PMOS said not that he was aware of. Asked if the Prime Minister had gone on record as saying that he did not believe in income tax for councils, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had said in the Commons that he did not believe that replacing Council Tax with Local Income tax was a viable option.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Gershon Review

Asked about the Gershon review in the light of the story in the Financial Times this morning, the PMOS said that it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that the Government were carrying out an efficiency review. Equally it shouldn't come as a surprise that we were trying to identify the resources that could be saved. However there was a process underway and it was premature to give a running commentary on that process until all the options were considered and a final report was prepared. Asked if the quotes in the Financial Times were from the report, the PMOS said he never commented on leaked documents.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Trilateral Summit/EU

Asked if the summit was an admission that 25 EU countries was unworkable without a leading group of 3, the PMOS said that it was not a matter of either/or. It was not a case of either trying to identify issues to could discuss as 3, or working as 25. It was a question of shaping our approach so that where there were issues that could be thought through and beginnings of solution identified by the 3, that could happen. Equally however that took place in the knowledge that we had to work with other allies such as Spain, Italy and Poland as well as the smaller countries.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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» Monday, February 23, 2004

Iran

Drug Testing in Schools

Guantanamo Bay

Council Tax/Pensions

EU Accession States/Immigration

Bin Laden

» Monday, February 16, 2004

EU Accession Immigration

Council Tax

Gershon Review

Trilateral Summit/EU

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