Briefing from the Prime Minister's Spokesman on: Queen's speech, Migration figures, Bin tax, Saudi Arabia and Misc

Morning Press Briefing From 30 Oct 2007

Queen's speech

The Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) began by telling the assembled press that the main item discussed at Cabinet that morning was the Queen's Speech. Asked about the contents of the speech, the PMS said that the draft of the Queen's speech set out a large number of potential Bills on which there would then be consultation, as well as consultation on the overall package itself.

For the first time the Government had given an indication of what Bills were being considered and what the likely content of those Bills would be, in advance of the actual Queen's speech next week.

Migration figures

Asked what steps were being taken by the Government to make sure figures for the number of immigrants were correct, after the Government got its figures wrong for the number of foreign workers in the UK, the PMS replied that it was clearly a matter for the relevant departments, the DWP in this case.

Once the department was alerted to this particular issue, they had taken steps to inform the public of the updated situation.

Asked when minister's were first made aware the figures were wrong, the PMS said that it was best to speak to DWP on the matter. Asked when the figures for violence carried out on ethnic minorities would be published as they were expected today, the PMS replied that he didn't have any information on the subject.

Asked if the Government was doing anything more broadly on getting migration figures into shape, the PMS replied that in relation to all of the Government's statistics, it wanted to make sure the Government operated on the best possible information.

That was why reforms had been made to the statistics system with the introduction of National Statistics and the reforms that had been made to the ONS in the late 1990's. Subsequent reforms had recently been legislated on, in relation to moving towards full statutory independence for the ONS.

So it was true there were steps in hand and it was the Government's intention to ensure it always had the best information in order to inform policy decisions. The PMS added that on specifics in relation to specific numbers it would probably be best to talk to the individual departments rather than to No.10.

Put that the ONS had been complaining for four years that the migration figures were inadequate and based on tiny samples, the PMS said that it was his understanding that these were figures put together by DWP, but again in terms of specifics it was best to speak to DWP.

In response to the suggestion that a lot of local authorities had complained about migration figures in relation to their funding and were there any moves to change the way they were gathered, the PMS reiterated that it was the Government's intention to always ensure that the public sector as a whole, had the best possible information available. That was why once the situation had come to light, the Government had amended the figures.

Asked if the Prime Minister himself was taking any steps to ensure that cross-Government, there was a review into the way in which such figures were gathered, the PMS said that when the Prime Minister was Chancellor he had taken a number of steps to improve and enhance the system for collating and publishing statistics.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought anything had to be done now, the PMS replied that there were obviously issues that had arisen and these would have to be looked at. However, this was a particular issue that had arisen in relation to DWP and Peter Hain had dealt with it yesterday.

Put that the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King had said that statistics were "hopelessly inadequate" and the Government did not have any statistics on migration that were accurate, the PMS said that clearly there had been an issue in relation to checking peoples records when they left the country and that was something the Government was seeking to amend by reintroducing exit controls.

Put that Mervyn King was talking about people arriving as well as leaving the country, the PMS said that he did not have the full text of the Mervyn King intervention. The PMS added that it was his recollection that Mervyn King was making a more general comment about population and migration statistics and it was addressed more to the ONS.

Asked again if the Prime Minister was broadly happy with how the migration figures were collated and whether he believed them to be adequate, the PMS said that the Prime Minister believed that the Government needed to have the best possible systems in place in relation to all statistics and that was why significant reforms had been made to the statistical system when he was Chancellor, in order to improve the overall reporting of statistics.

Asked if the Government would be willing to fund the money to produce decent migration statistics, the PMS replied that the Government already funded the ONS and the relevant departments for their statistics. If there were particular issues that people had identified, then obviously these would need to be looked at, but the PMS was not aware that there were such issues, or that there were such requests or bids for extra funding in the system.

Asked what the Prime Minister's mood was when he was informed of the statistics, the PMS said it was fair to say that the Prime Minister was focussing on the business of Government and getting on with the job.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought the Government now had the best possible system in place, the PMS replied that such things needed to be kept under constant review and where there were issues such as this arising, action had to be taken to identify the issues and then take corrective action.

Asked if there was a review under way of how the figures were collected, the PMS said that this had only recently come to light, DWP had announced the figures and it was for them to look at their own internal systems.

Put that calls made by Peter Hain to inform people about the change in information last night, came through the Downing Street switchboard and had he made the calls from Downing Street, the PMS said not to his knowledge. It was a normal way of contacting people and he advised people not to read anything into it.

Bin tax

Asked about the possibility of there being a bin tax, the PMS replied that the Government's response had not changed since he was last asked about it on Thursday. It was a complex issue, there were lots of difficult issues that needed to be considered, it was important to strike the right balance. That was why the Government had announced yesterday that there would be some pilot schemes, looking at ways in which local authorities can introduce incentives for household waste minimisation.

Put that the Prime Minister had vetoed the idea, the PMS replied that last Thursday he had said that it was a very complex issue and would need to be considered carefully.

This was at a time when it was being put to the Government that they were on the point of announcing a national charge for people putting their rubbish out. What was announced yesterday was that there would be a power introduced for some local authorities to pilot schemes in order to improver incentives for household waste minimisation.

Asked if the Government would decide on which local authorities could carry out the pilot schemes, the PMS replied that it would be up for local authorities to come forward with specific proposals, but exactly how this would be taken forward would be made clear in further announcements.

Saudi Arabia

Asked to comment on what the Prime Minister would be talking to the King of Saudi Arabia about and would that include human rights violations, the PMS replied that he could not say anything in advance of the meeting. Obviously Saudi Arabia was a very important ally and one of Britain's most important international partners.

The Government wanted to have a constructive relationship with the Saudi's who were an important partner in cooperation in the fight against terrorism and it was important that the UK continued to engage with them.

Asked when the Prime Minister last visited Saudi Arabia, the PMS said he was not sure if the Prime Minister had visited Saudi Arabia but would check for people.

Misc

Asked if the Prime Minister welcomed the IOC's decision to allow a British Olympic football team, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister had set out his views on such matters in the past and the position had not changed. The PMS added that he would have to check exactly what the position was, but he was sure they had been set out in the past.

Asked if David Miliband was at Cabinet this morning, the PMS replied that he was not at Cabinet.

Asked if the Prime Minister would be wearing a white tie this evening, the PMS said that the dress code for the event was set by the Queen and the Prime Minister would abide by it.

Asked if it was true that the Prime Minister had spent £3000 on taxpayer's money on a suit for the event, the PMS replied that he did not know but would check if people wanted him to.

ENDS

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