Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: OFSTED, Fire Dispute and Iraq.
OFSTED
Asked about OFSTED figures showing literacy in primary schools falling for the second consecutive year, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said he hadn’t seen the OFSTED report in question. As he understood it, however, OFSTED had stated very clearly there had been an increase in standards as a result of the numeracy and literacy hours which had increased the quality of literacy dramatically among primary school children. That said, when you reached a certain point, it became even harder to make the incremental improvements over and above that. Of course that did not mean that we were not investing significant extra resources and making this issue a real priority. We were. The figures showed that the Government’s reforms had improved standards dramatically in our primary schools, but at the same time they demonstrated that there was a challenge to go even further.
Fire Dispute
Asked if Downing Street believed that the modernisation of the fire service would mean fewer fire-fighters, the PMOS said that he had addressed this issue at length this morning. As he had pointed out, to accede to a pay claim of the magnitude being demanded by the FBU would lead to very large numbers of jobs being lost in the wider economy. He drew journalists’ attention to comments made by Sir Eddie George at the Treasury Select Committee today regarding inflationary pay claims and their likely impact. It was clear that modernisation would have a positive impact on working practices which had remained unchanged for the last 25 years. It was up to the employers and Union to sit down and negotiate staffing structures. Nick Raynsford had taken the opportunity today to draw attention to the age profile of fire-fighters. It was important to approach the issue from the perspective of delivering a modern, efficient fire service which provided the best cover possible for the public and delivered value for money. Those issues had been addressed by the Bain inquiry and should be the starting point of the discussions between the employers and the Union. It was important to recognise that any changes to working practices would lead to a better and more efficient service, in addition to providing fire-fighters with a greater opportunity to have a more rewarding career. Put to him it was obvious - and inevitable - that any wage increase would be paid for by job cuts, the PMOS said it was inevitable that working practices which hadn’t changed for over 25 years would come under the spotlight if a wage claim, like the one being demanded by the FBU, was made. These were issues for the employers to negotiate with the Union. That said, it was important for both sides to recognise that any extra money had to be funded through modernisation. Asked if Downing Street thought that staffing levels in the fire service were at the right level, the PMOS said that he had just answered the question. He pointed out that the Deputy Prime Minister had also addressed this issue in the House this afternoon, as he understood it.
Iraq
Asked for a reaction to reports that the UN Weapons Inspectors had already run into trouble with the Iraqis who were quibbling over access to Saddam Hussein’s Palaces, the PMOS said that UN Resolution 1441 had stated clearly that the Inspectors were to be given access to all areas. There was no point in having access to 99% of Iraq if the 1% that was off limits was home to Saddam’s chemical and biological arsenal. It was obviously essential for the Weapons Inspectors to be given access to wherever they wanted to go. We had to proceed cautiously, but also with absolute resolution and determination that Saddam must comply with all his obligations. We would continue to be live to any Iraqi game-playing. The spokeswoman from the IAEA had made it absolutely clear yesterday that they were, rightly, approaching the situation from a sceptical viewpoint. The next formal step in the process was for Saddam to comply with the thirty-day declaration, due on 8 December. In the meantime, we were seeing preparatory ground clearing work with Hans Blix and the Iraqi authorities.
Asked what our next step would be if Saddam Hussein declared on 8 December that he didn’t have any Weapons of Mass Destruction, the PMOS said that the Foreign Secretary had made the position clear yesterday. As paragraph 4 of UN Resolution 1441 stated, any material breach could arise where there had been false statements or omissions in the declaration submitted by Iraq and failure by Iraq at any time to comply with and co-operate fully in the implementation of this Resolution. There would ultimately be a report to the UN Security Council to make an assessment as to whether the Resolution had been breached or not. Put to him that the Prime Minister had appeared to state firmly yesterday that Saddam would be in breach of the Resolution if he attempted to say that he had no Weapons of Mass Destruction because we knew that he had, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had been making the point, as we had throughout, that the consequences of a material breach would be for the Security Council to assess. As Mr Straw had said yesterday, we would obviously rather do this ‘in consort’ with the Security Council, but we certainly did not preclude circumstances where action would be taken if no agreement was reached. Asked if the UK would refer the matter to the Security Council if Saddam Hussein stated categorically on December 8 that he had no Weapons of Mass Destruction, the PMOS said it was important for people to understand that we would act with absolute determination to enforce the will of the international community. The ball was in Saddam’s court in terms of complying with Resolution 1441. He knew exactly what he had to do. The next deadline was 8 December. We hoped that he would comply. The PMOS added that he was not going to get into ‘what ifs….’ now when a process was ongoing. Let us see what Saddam Hussein did first. The Prime Minister’s words from yesterday spoke for themselves.
delicious
digg
facebook
