Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: Running companies/NHS, Flags/England Team, Prisoners, Climate Change, Unison, Public/Private Sector
Running companies/NHS
Asked by Bloomberg what the synergy was between arms companies such as Shorts and the NHS was, "aside from the fact that they both killed people", the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that all libel suits should be directed to the person concerned. In terms of running any large enterprise, there were similar issues of costs, personnel, IT and how large organisations were run, and similar issues of scale and management to be faced.
Put that the NHS would be a great deal better if a significant number of its staff were sacked, the PMOS said that the one thing that these people had not been involved in was operationally running the NHS. In terms of the personnel issues, they were matters for the managers at the NHS.
Flags/England Team
Asked by the Sun if the Prime Minister would be encouraging further members of the Cabinet to fly St George’s flags from their official limos, the PMOS replied that as he had said this morning, and yesterday, both in response to questions from the Sun, individual Ministers would choose to do what individual Ministers would do. The Prime Minister would express his support in his own way for the England team.
Asked if the PMOS would be flying the flag, the PMOS said that as he had said this morning, his support for the England team was now on the record twice, and he would express his own support in his own quiet way.
Asked if there was nothing to stop Ministers from flying the flag if they wanted to, the PMOS said that Tessa Jowell had spoken for the Government.
Asked if people were likely to find out how the Prime Minister would support England, the PMOS said it would become apparent in due course At this point, people asked if the Prime Minister would send a telegram, have his face painted or get a tattoo. The PMOS said that people could speculate all they wished, but people were "barking up the wrong tree".
Asked if the Prime Minister had any plans to go to any of the games, the PMOS said that he did not. As the PMOS had said yesterday, the Prime Minister’s view was that there was enough pressure on the team already.
Asked if the Prime Minister would watch the Paraguay game, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister would watch the games, and his primary interest was in watching them.
Referring to the question about the Prime Minister not going to any games because of the pressure on the team, the PMOS was asked did that apply also to the final, the PMOS said that the question was the ultimate dangerous hypothetical, and he was not going to get into that.
Asked again about the Prime Minister going to the games, the PMOS replied that he had no plans to do so at this stage. The PMOS was not going to get into speculation about the final stage of the tournament.
Put that no plans at this stage did not include the final, the PMOS said again that he was not going to get into any discussion about the final whatsoever. Full stop.
Asked if Scottish Ministers were allowed an exemption, the PMOS said that Scottish Ministers decided what they decided.
Prisoners
Asked what was the Prime Minister’s view on the seriousness of the problem regarding 8 of the most serious foreign offenders still being on the loose, as the head of the IND had told a Select Committee, the PMOS said that there were two issues. One was the issue of dealing with those who were freed and not deported. Measures were in place to track them down as soon as possible, and that work continued. There was also, however, the overall question of changing the system to ensure that we did not end up in the same place again. Work was continuing on that as well. The Prime Minister recognised, as he had said in his speech this morning, that there was frustration at this problem arising. However, as both John Reid and David Normington in a joint statement had made clear, the officials and the Ministers were determined to work together to resolve the issues.
Climate Change
Asked if we were trying to talk up divisions within businesses to deal with climate change, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister had been saying for quite some time that we believed that there should be an overall stabilisation goal agreed, and that should be agreed internationally, as it did not mean anything, otherwise. The Prime Minister thought that was important because certainty needed to be given to industry, so that it knew that if it invested in R&D and climate change, then it would get a return. We were in precise agreement that there did need to be a strong signal to industry in the form of our stabilisation goal, which was both of benefit to the environment, but also gave the rights to industry.
Asked if that applied to the nuclear industry, the PMOS said that in terms of nuclear issues, it was an important part of the energy review, and in terms of this country, that would be what would determine our policy on this issue. Again, it was another situation where there were hard decisions to be taken, and they were decisions which had to be against a realistic appraisal of the background, as the Prime Minister had made clear after he had received the interim findings of the review.
Unison
Asked if there was a response to the Unison claim that they had not been allowed to come to the public sector event today, the PMOS replied that after they had made the complaint, they had since issued a statement saying that they had been invited.
Public/Private Sector
Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned that the Chancellor words on wage restraints had diverted from his message today, the PMOS replied that he did not recognise the premise of the question. The Chancellor had made the point, as had the Prime Minister, that we needed to see proper controls and returns on investment in the public sector in terms of pay. In terms of what the Prime Minister had said, his message was a broader one, which was that the public sector did need investment to improve, but the public equally, did expect, and were entitled to expect, radically better public services as a result of that investment. The Prime Minister believed that there was change for the better, but that process had to continue.
Asked if there was a policy about how to deal with those people who resisted change within the service, the PMOS replied that in terms of the conference today, what people saw was front-line representatives from a range of public services who did see that change for the better. In terms of making a case for change, that in essence was made by the public. What was driving the change was not dogma on the part of the Government, but rather, the expectations of the public that the public services would meet their needs. Public sector workers were just as much customers of the public services as anybody else.
Put that if there were managers of public sector organisations who refused to go along with the change, and who spread their views across the service, should those people be sacked, the PMOS said that the message the Prime Minister had heard from the FTSE 100 companies was also very much of how they believed change had happened, and was happening for the better. If people gave the public choice, what would drive change was as much the choice that the public themselves had made in terms of where they took their services and demands. That was what, in the end, would drive change.
Asked if there was anything that the private sector could learn from the public sector, instead of the other way round, the PMOS replied that of course it worked both ways. What there should not be was a situation where the public sector refused for whatever reason to learn lessons about effectiveness from the private sector. What was important was what worked, but to work, there needed to be proper investment. There also needed to be a recognition of the needs, skills, tools available today which were very different to what they were sixty years ago. Therefore, those skills, tools, methods of working had to be updated, and to do that meant change.
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