Briefing from the Prime Minister’s spokesman on : Car Industry, Discussion on Royal Mail at Cabinet, Jim McGovern’s Resignation, Unemployment/Woolworths, Misc
Car Industry:
Asked if any aid for the car industry would be offered this week, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that the Secretary of State had had meetings with representatives of the car industry, the representatives had put forward proposals and we would look at them. As and when there was anything to say Lord Mandelson would do so.
Asked if some of the proposals had been put forward by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the PMS said that that was correct; there had been a meeting about a fortnight ago.
Discussion on Royal Mail at Cabinet:
Asked to characterise the discussion that took place at Cabinet yesterday about the Royal Mail, the PMS said he had characterised it yesterday as a positive discussion in which most members of the Cabinet participated.
Asked if most members of the Cabinet had agreed, the PMS said that he was not going to get into a detailed break down of who said what at Cabinet.
Asked if they had all participated positively, the PMS repeated that it had been a positive discussion.
Jim McGovern’s resignation:
Asked for the Prime Minister’s response to Jim McGovern’s resignation, the PMS said that it was best to speak to one of the Prime Minister’s political spokesmen as the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary was a political appointment. The PMS was not aware that the Prime Minister had responded to the news as he was in Iraq. However, Jim McGovern had set out his position and we had set out ours.
Unemployment/Woolworth’s:
Asked if the Prime Minister was worried about the current level of unemployment, particularly considering the job losses at Woolworths, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had given a response to the latest unemployment figures, (before the announcement from Woolworths), saying that we needed to do everything we could to help people get into work and combat unemployment, which was why we were today announcing a £79 million fund to help people get the skills needed to gain access to work in the future.
Asked if the Prime Minister was disappointed that a buyer for Woolworths could not be found, the PMS said that we were disappointed that the administrators had been unable to find a buyer. We understood that they were continuing to seek buyers for some of the stores and we would follow their efforts closely. Job Centre Plus stood ready to work with Woolworths to manage the impact from job losses.
Miscellaneous:
Asked if the Prime Minister would give a House of Commons statement tomorrow on Iraq, the PMS said yes but he could not yet confirm the timing.
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