Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Employment, Debt, European Summit/IGC and ID Cards.
Employment
Asked for a reaction to the drop in the employment rate according to figures out today, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) pointed out that the figures also showed the lowest number of people out of work for years. This followed a trend which had started twenty-one months ago. While it was clear that there were difficulties in the world economy, the fundamentals of the British economy were strong. The policies which had ensured such a situation had not come about by accident.
Debt
Questioned as to whether the Prime Minister was concerned about levels of household debt in the light of comments by the Governor of the Bank of England today suggesting that the UK could be heading for a higher interest rate environment in the months ahead, the PMOS said that the Governor of the Bank of England had been commenting on possible future pressures in the economy. That was his job and he had every right to express his opinions. However, it was important to be patient and wait and see how things panned out. The global economic situation was a big factor, and was already showing signs of improvement.
European Summit/IGC
Asked how much progress we were expecting to make at the European Summit this week, the PMOS cautioned journalists against interpreting the events of the next day-and-a-half as being the end of a discussion process. On the contrary. It was very much the beginning of it. Asked if the Prime Minister remained confident that a Treaty would be accomplished by the end of the year, the PMOS said that the Italians wanted to wrap things up by December and we would give them every assistance to help them achieve that objective. Ultimately, however, it was important to get the substance right.
ID Cards
Asked if it was fair to assume that the issue of ID cards would not resurface until after the next election, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had spelled out the position on ID cards at PMQs today. In principle, there were advantages to such a system - for example, it would help tackle mass migration and benefit fraud. However, the logistics and the cost had to be worked out. That process was currently underway and would take a bit of time to complete. In the meantime, it was important for people to exercise a little patience on this matter. Asked if he was indicating that the Prime Minister did not consider the issue of civil liberties to present any problems, the PMOS said that if such concerns were raised, we would obviously want to address them. However, the issues the Prime Minister had highlighted today related to logistics and the cost of introducing ID cards.
Asked if the proposal remained a live issue as far as the Prime Minister was concerned, the PMOS said that it was an issue which we were considering very seriously by having a mature debate about it within Government. That did not simply involve looking at whether, in principle, ID cards could play a role in dealing with issues like migration and benefit fraud. It was also about the practical implications of introducing the cards, including the logistics and cost. The debate was obviously ongoing. Once the policy had been decided, we would let people know.
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