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» Thursday, March 1, 2007

House of Lords Reform

The Leader said that the votes would start at 5.30pm on March 7, following the approval of a Business motion earlier this week. Currently, there were nine motions before the House, and voting would take two-and-a-quarter hours if there were divisions on each of them. Although he could not be certain, he suspected that one or two of them might not be the subject of a division. It had also been agreed to suspend the Standing Orders which prevented inconsistent motions being put to the vote. That would mean that MPs would vote on each of the key propositions even if one had been carried already.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Trident Debate-Vote

The Leader said he had answered a question earlier in the House about whether there would be any Government statements in advance which could constrain the time available for debate. He had indicated that he hoped there would not be any except in the case of an emergency. If there were, there would be discussion about an extension of time.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Casino Order-Debate

Asked whether there had been any discussion about amending the motion to allow views about locations other than Manchester to be decided, the Leader said that it was the nature of delegated legislation that it should not be amendable. Therefore, a single Order would be before the House. There had been no formal discussion about whether it should be amendable. Inevitably, the recommendations from the casino advisory committee, which Tessa Jowell had said she was minded to accept, were part of a package. Mr Straw said that would be put to the House. Asked if there was any possibility of a free vote, the Leader said that it was a Government decision. The exact nature of the whipping would be determined by the Government Chief Whip in due course.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Avian Flu-Compensation

The Leader was asked about a report that the owner of the affected turkey firm in Norfolk was in line for more than £600,000 compensation. He said he could not confirm the figures. Asked further if it was appropriate that compensation should be paid, Mr Straw said that it depended on the specific circumstances and what culpability - if any - attached. It was a matter for the Secretary of State for Defra. The Leader said he was not in a position to comment on the particular case.

Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Cabinet

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that Cabinet discussed the environment with a presentation by David Miliband which was an overview of environmental policy. Asked if it was true that the Prime Minister had overruled Alistair Darling and had made an EU deal on the environment, the PMOS said what was true was that in terms of the EU and the G8 we believe that this is a critical year on energy and the environment. That has been echoed by Chancellor Merkel who has made energy the subject of the EU Spring Summit. We believe that we have to be ambitious and therefore we have to support the proposals for providing a EU wide target for renewables. We believe that it needs to be set out in a realistic way which would take into account the individual circumstances of each country. But we believe it is right to be ambitious in Europe because that then gives us the ability to ask other countries, including the United States, but also countries such as China and India, to also be ambitious in terms of their approach as well. There is a connection between the climate change bill and the EU energy review as well. The discussions come together.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)

Petrol

Asked if there was any comment on the petrol problem, the PMOS said that he was not aware that the issue involved the Government, thankfully.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Pay Awards

Asked if the pay awards would be with relation to top peoples pay or everyone, the PMOS said that it would be overall but the lobby should take it from what the Chancellor would say at Treasury questions.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

Super Casino

Asked if all the Cabinet supported Manchester for the site for the super casino, the PMSO said that Tessa Jowell would put down the Government position. Asked that they would all be voting when it came to the House, the PMOS said that Tessa Jowell would put down a Government position and we would announce the position at a later stage.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Road Pricing

Asked if the Prime Minister believed that the wave of congestions taxes introduced should be progressive, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister believes that first and foremost people have to recognise that doing nothing is not an option. If you look at the projection for congestion it is clear that doing nothing is not an option. What the Prime Minister then believes is that what we need to do is find out what works and what doesn't work which is why we proposed ten pilot schemes, and then you come up with the proposals. There is a process of education for Government, for local authorities and for the public that we all have to go through. Simply reacting in a knee-jerk way to what people think the Government is proposing is not the way to go. People quite rightly feel strongly about this issue but what we have to do is have a mutual education exercise in which we all come to learn more about how we deal with this difficult issue. Asked what the difference between not having a knee-jerk reaction and the Prime Minster saying that the Government couldn't proceed if everyone was opposed, the PMOS said that what the Prime Minister was acknowledging, as we did acknowledge, was that people feel very strongly about it. People equally feel strongly about congestion and feel very strongly that they want congestion dealt with as an issue. Those two position are somewhat contradictory but what the role of Government is, is to see how we can deal with congestion in a way which people recognise as being fair and dealing with the problem and actually offering a long term sustainable solution. What is absolutely clear is if you don't look at the problem you will end up with something that people don't want which is cities in which no one can move. That is not just bad in terms of the use of peoples time and terms of the environment, it is also bad for jobs. The BBC estimate quoted that if nothing was done about congestion in Manchester it would cost 30,000 jobs.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Troops in Bosnia

Asked is there were concerns of troop withdrawal after some had said that the UK had a moral obligation to remain in order to remove all the unexploded bombs, the PMOS said that first and foremost what should be done is people take a step back and recognise the progress that has been made. The progress that has been made because of a decision to intervene in an area where in the past people have not intervened and where shown we have the patience, including people in this country, and political efforts to get us to where we are, and to get us to the position where withdrawal was possible. What the experience in Bosnia has shown is that patience and political skill can help resolve a problem which has bedevilled that part of the world, not just for a few years or decades but for centuries. Firstly, that was what should be recognised. Secondly, in terms of the balance between the presence of troops and the withdrawal of troops that was a matter for the people on the ground. They were the best judge of when you should and shouldn't make these kinds of decisions and we go with their judgement.

Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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» Thursday, March 1, 2007

House of Lords Reform

Trident Debate-Vote

Casino Order-Debate

Avian Flu-Compensation

Cabinet

Petrol

Pay Awards

Super Casino

Road Pricing

Troops in Bosnia

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