» Thursday, January 12, 2006
Safeguarding Children
Asked if there could be 30-40 people on the sex offenders' register working in schools, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that if journalists spoke to the department, they had used the word "small" and they had used it advisedly. His understanding was that it was not of the order suggested. Put to him that suggested he knew the number, the PMOS said the department had said small but quite rightly, as the Secretary of State had said in the House of Commons, she was not going to get involved in the business of giving provisional numbers either to the House of Commons or to the public until she was absolutely sure. The department had used the word "small" and they had done so advisedly. It was right and proper that they took the time, and be given the time, to investigate the matter properly.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Sex Offenders Lists
Asked when Ruth Kelly resigned, would she become the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that as he had made clear yesterday, Ruth Kelly's position remained unchanged, and would remain unchanged.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (16)
Northern Ireland
Asked if the Prime Minister was involved with the "On the Runs" legislation and whether the RUC widow meeting had been the decisive factor in persuading us to drop the bill, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) replied that in terms of the Prime Minister's involvement, of course he was involved in the decision. With regards to the RUC Widows meeting, the Prime Minister explained at the time of the meeting that he was fully aware of their views and the pain that was caused not just to them, but also to other victims of the IRA by going through the legislation.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)
Iran
Asked if the Prime Minister had any thoughts on the talks in Berlin and the Iranian President's statement, the PMOS said the Prime Minister had spoken to Chancellor Merkel yesterday afternoon, and following the Foreign Secretary's meeting with his E3 counterparts we were heartened that we all seemed to be on the same page in terms of recognising the seriousness of developments. We were all agreed that this was a matter that needed to be urgently considered by the IAEA Board and as such we were moving toward the possibility of the UN Security Council considering the matter.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Iran
Asked who the Foreign Secretary was meeting in Berlin, and what was the message, the PMOS said that Jack Straw was meeting his counterparts from France and Germany. The message would be that the Prime Minister had spoken to Chancellor Merkel yesterday, and there was a recognition that the latest developments in Iran were serious. What we needed to agree was what happened next. We had argued for some time for a referral to the UN, and we believed it should be considered next by the IAEA Board. We hoped that that would be the case, and we were happy to go through the procedure and argue a case at each step of that process, and we would do so. The PMOS said that today was the starting point of that process.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Sex Offenders
Asked if the Prime Minister had had a full briefing from Ruth Kelly on the circumstances surrounding whether teachers were on or off List 99, the PMOS replied that Ruth Kelly had issued a statement that said that the procedure involved in this was one that, as the PMOS understood it, went back many years, and predated the current administration. Clearly, procedures, and public expectations around the issue of child protection had changed a lot in recent years, and it was therefore right to have a fundamental review of the process.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Deputy Prime Minister’s Council Tax
Asked if No10 was signed off to John Prescott's statement, the PMOS said that this had arisen from a misunderstanding dating back to 1997. The Deputy Prime Minister along with the Commons Fees Office had regarded Admiralty House as his primary residence. The Deputy Prime Minister believed he was paying council tax out of the 10% of his salary taken for benefits in kind for Admiralty House. The department, on the other hand, had continued the practice of the previous occupant of regarding it as his secondary home and they had paid the council tax at the rate appropriate for a secondary home. The Deputy Prime Minister having realised this misunderstanding now had paid the council tax owing in full dating back to 1997. He had set out the case in his written statement.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Rolls Royce
Asked what communication the Prime Minister had had with President Bush about Rolls Royce, the PMOS replied that we did not disclose on the Prime Minister's behalf discussions he had on commercial matters. We had always made it clear that we supported British industry, but we did not discuss individual conversations about either commercial matters, or ones with President Bush. They remained private.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Iran
Asked how did the Prime Minister feel about Germany not being willing to report Iran to the Security Council, the PMOS replied that first of all, people should wait for the official position of Germany and then we would respond.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Neil Kinnock/Education
Asked to comment on the Guardian interview with Neil Kinnock's views on education reforms, the PMOS said that the NAO report yesterday set out our position on education very clearly. The number of failing schools had halved since 1997. Equally, however, there was a lot more still to be done to bring all schools up to the same standard. That was precisely why we had to apply the lessons of those schools that had become successful, and apply it in a way which brought all schools up to the same level. In terms of selection, the White Paper only altered the rules of submission in one way, which was to toughen up the adjudicators' code by making their guidelines applicable for three years, rather than one year. In terms of the overall approach, it was to keep building on the success that we had had with City Academies and Trust schools, but equally, there was no change to the process.
Briefing took place at 12:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
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