Downing Street Says

» Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Economy

The PMS was asked what the Prime Minister thought of the GDP figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that morning. He answered that the Prime Minister agreed with the Chancellor that they were disappointing. He added that as the UK came out of recession, experience showed that a choppy period was to be expected and that too much should not be read into the figures, which were the first estimate of just one quarter.

Asked about the VAT rise, the PMS said that that policy was part of the Government’s programme for tackling the deficit, and that tackling the deficit was not an alternative to growth but a prerequisite. He added that the International Monetary Fund had said that morning that failure of advanced economies to develop consolidation plans was a key downside risk to growth.

Asked if there could there be a double-dip, the PMS said it was for the Office for Budget Responsibility to produce forecasts.

Asked about the impact of the weather on the figures, the PMS said the UK had suffered particularly bad December weather and that the ONS had said that accounted for an effect of about 0.5 per cent, with the services and construction sectors especially affected. The PMS said the Government had clearly set out its economic policy and that it had no intention of deviating from that. He added that the Government was also taking action to support growth in a number of ways, such as cutting corporation tax, considering burdens of regulation on business, looking at the Skills Strategy and Appenticeships, and by making trade a priority in all contact with other countries.

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» Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Economy

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