No. 10 Morning press briefing from 23 Oct 2007

Briefing from the Prime Minister's Spokesman on: Cabinet, Constitutional Reform, Turkey, Population Growth, Phillips Review and Renewable Energy

Cabinet

The Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) began by outlining the two main issues discussed at this morning's Cabinet. Firstly, there was an update from Jack Straw on the Constitutional Reform Agenda and how that was being taken forward. Secondly, there was a discussion led by Ed Balls on taking forward next steps on diplomas.

Asked to specify what Ed Balls was announcing today, the PMS said he was announcing how the agenda was being taken forward in relation to diplomas which was one of the issues which came out of the Tomlinson review.

Asked if diplomas were to replace A-levels, the PMS said it was best to wait for the statement later today.

Constitutional Reform

Asked if Constitutional Reform included House of Lords reform, the PMS referred to the Prime Minister's statement on the Constitutional Reform Agenda on 3 July and said that it was much wider than just the issue of the House of Lords reform.

Asked if it was fair to characterise it as everything except House of Lords and voting, the PMS said that the House of Lords was being taken forward; there was a broad agenda of constitutional reform matters and the House of Lords was clearly part of that. There was a statement on a wide-ranging package of measures announced by the Prime Minister in July.

Put that the Prime Minister's ideas highlighted in his Constitutional Reform Agenda statement on 3 July, e.g. a statement of British values/a British Bill of Rights and Duties, amounted to a British Constitution and would consider having a referendum on that, the PMS said that that was getting way ahead of ourselves; the proposals set out in July were how we could work up a British statement of values which might then be a pre-cursor for a British Bill of Rights at some point in the future should a consensus emerge around that following discussions; we needed to take this step by step.

Asked, to that end, if there would be anything constitutional in the Queen's speech, the PMS replied that the draft Queen's speech had stated that there would be a Constitutional Reform Bill.

Asked if Jack Straw had specified any areas where progress had been made re the Constitutional Reform Agenda, the PMS replied that progress had been made across a broad front but that it was for Jack Straw to set out the next steps, which we would expect him to do shortly.

Turkey

Asked how concerned the Prime Minister had been that Turkey had threatened to destabilise the only stable region in Iraq, the PMS said that it was best to wait for the Prime Minister's press conference with Prime Minister Erdogan later that morning. The joint UK/US statement issued over night in Washington, following discussions between the Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Condoleezza Rice, stated the current position.

Asked what the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Olmert would be discussing in their meeting, the PMS reminded journalists that the meeting had not taken place yet but that they would discuss a wide range of issues relating to the Middle East peace process and other regional matters, however it was best to wait until the press conference when a better account of discussions could be given.
Asked in relation to the US/UK proposal for a meeting in Istanbul if there was a sufficient degree of urgency to prevent a Turkish incursion, the PMS replied that clearly we were treating this matter with the urgency it required; there were intensive discussions about this in Washington involving the Foreign Secretary and Condoleezza Rice; there were further meetings today with the Prime Minister of Turkey and there would be further discussions in the period ahead.

Population Growth

Asked if the Prime Minister thought that the country was ready for 70 million people, the PMS referred to the ONS press release that morning and pointed out that they prefaced their findings with the phrase 'if passed trends continue'. They went on to say that 'the assumptions underlying national population projections' were 'demographic trend based'; they were not forecasts so it was an extrapolation of historical trends, not a forecast, as the ONS explicitly states. The ONS did not attempt to predict the impact that future Government policies, change in economic circumstances or other factors might have on demographic behaviour; this subject needed to be looked at in that context. In relation to the general issue, the Government had set up the Migration Impact Forum (MIF), which included representatives from the police and local authorities and we would also be introducing our tough new points system to help manage migration, which would come into effect in approximately 150 days time.

Asked again how the Prime Minister felt about the figure of 70 million, whether it was a forecast or not, the PMS repeated that the Government had introduced the MIF, which included all the key bodies, in order to ensure that we could manage the impact that migration has on communities.

Asked to explain more about the MIF, the PMS said that the Home Office could give as much detail as was needed on it.

Phillips Review

Asked about the letter the Prime Minister had received from the Leader of the Opposition about the Phillips review, the PMS said that it was a party matter. There were ongoing inter-party talks chaired by Sir Hayden Phillips and there was a further meeting due to be held at the end of the month but beyond that there was nothing more to add.

Renewable Energy

Asked if the Guardian had been right to say that the Government will do a u-turn on renewable energy, the PMS said that Ministers were not planning a u-turn on any pledges to combat climate change and we were not seeking to effectively abolish the target for renewable energy, which was agreed by the European Union in the spring. Obviously there was a discussion taking place within Europe involving the Commission and Member States about the implementation of that target; meeting the target would be challenging and obviously we wanted to make sure that the system was well-designed, cost-effective and practical but it was not the case that Ministers were planning a u-turn on any of the pledges that we had made.

Put that if it was found not to be practical the Government could not carry it out, the PMS said that we were working with the Commission and other Member States to ensure that it was implemented in a way that was practical.

Asked if other departments had prevented the meeting of targets, the PMS said that in the last couple of months we had given consent for the world's biggest offshore wind farm in the Thames. We had also given consent for a Fullabrook wind farm in north Devon, an offshore wind farm off Teesside, the Wave Hub deep-sea socket off Cornwall, as well as having announced a feasibility study into the Severn Barrage. As such there was a very active agenda being taken forward across all Government departments in relation to renewables.

ENDS

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