Tag: Downing Street

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 14 February 2024.

The Prime Minister began by welcoming new members of the 2024 Business Council and said he was determined to continue his work to make the UK the best place to start, grow, and invest in businesses.

He explained how – in the face of geopolitical headwinds – the economy has turned a corner and is moving in the right direction. He noted that inflation has more than halved from 11.1% to 4%, mortgage rates are coming down, and the economy is forecast to grow.

The new Council, with members including FTSE and SME companies from across the UK, discussed the impact of the current macroeconomic climate on business operations. Members noted the impact of global factors on business – such as the war in Ukraine and recent attacks in the Red Sea – but pointed to positive indicators, such as customers feeling the benefit of tax cuts on their expendable income, and optimism about longer term growth.

The discussion went on to explore how the UK Government can best support growth and innovation across the economy, discussing the success of full expensing – which is the biggest business tax cut in modern British history. Members were positive about the UK’s strong consumer confidence, which is at a 2-year high. The Council discussed how cuts to National Insurance will boost spending power, which is likely to improve confidence further.

The Prime Minister closed the meeting by thanking attendees for their time and encouraged them to feed in their views and ideas so the Government can continue supporting businesses to invest and grow, boosting the economy and delivering opportunities across the UK for British people.

The press release issued by the 10 Downing Street on 9 February 2024.

The King has been pleased to approve that Michael Tomlinson KC MP be sworn of His Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 February 2024.

The King has been graciously pleased to signify His intention of conferring the following Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 February 2024.

The King has been pleased to approve the following appointment:

• Donald Cameron MSP as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Scotland Office.
• His Majesty has been pleased to confer a peerage of the United Kingdom for Life on Donald Cameron.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 5 February 2024.

The Prime Minister and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, today.

The Prime Minister began by congratulating the Ireland rugby team for their emphatic win against France in the Six Nations on Friday.

The Prime Minister turned to the day’s events and thanked the Taoiseach for the Irish Government’s support for the UK Government efforts to see restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland. This had been a challenging time, but patience had proved key to a deal. Now that the institutions were up and running again, he wanted to see all three strands functioning equally well. The sense of relief and optimism from people in Northern Ireland had been very striking and made it all worthwhile.

The leaders reiterated their shared view that a stable, effective and successful Northern Ireland benefitted the UK-Irish relationship immensely. They looked forward to remaining in close contact.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 5 February 2024.

The King has been pleased to appoint Mr Lindsay William Tulloch QPM DL as His Lord-Lieutenant for Shetland, to succeed Mr Robert Walter Hunter CVO following his retirement on 3rd April 2024.

Background

Mr Tulloch was born and educated in Shetland. On leaving High School he obtained a vocational apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery. He remained in the building industry for 4 years before joining the police service in 1992. During 30 years in the police service, Mr Tulloch served across the Highland and Islands area. He was Senior Investigating Officer on a number of serious and high profile criminal investigations, rising through the ranks, serving for six years as Police Area Commander for Shetland, and finally as Superintendent within the Highland and Islands Division of Police Scotland.

In January 2020, Mr Tulloch was awarded the Queens Police Medal by Her Majesty the Queen and he is currently a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant for Shetland.

Mr Tulloch retired from the Police Service in June 2022 and now lives with his wife on the island of Bressay, Shetland. They have one daughter. He is involved in many local charities and has a keen interest in local history, culture and genealogy.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 2 February 2024.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a call with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier today.

The Prime Minister spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this morning.

They discussed ongoing UK – Italy collaboration to tackle criminal people smuggling gangs and deal with illegal migration.

The Prime Minister noted the passage of the Italy-Albania agreement, and leaders agreed to continue working closely together to develop innovative partnerships across Europe and with countries along the migration route.

The Prime Minister welcomed the agreement of a new European Union funding package for Ukraine, following the UK’s commitment of £2.5 billion in military assistance last month, stressing the importance of maintaining international support for Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression.

They also discussed wider UK-Italy defence and security cooperation, including the successful Global Combat Air Programme to develop next-generation fighter jets.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 1 February 2024.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to the Sultan of Oman, His Majesty Haitham bin Tarik al Said, this morning.

He welcomed the long friendship between the UK and Oman, stretching back centuries, and committed to continue deepening that partnership in areas including trade, defence and security.

The leaders discussed the ongoing Houthi attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, agreeing that it was vital for international security and stability to deescalate tensions in the region.

The Prime Minister stressed that military action was a last resort in the face of intolerable threats to global shipping, and followed consistent international warnings. The UK continued to urge the Houthis to end their reckless attacks.

The Prime Minister also raised the UK’s position on the devastating conflict in Gaza. He said the immediate priority was agreeing a humanitarian pause to allow more aid to be delivered across Gaza and to secure the release of all hostages.

The UK was pushing for more routes to be opened to bring far greater quantities of aid into the suffering civilian population, including maritime routes.

He reiterated the UK’s support for progress towards a viable two state solution, where Palestinians and Israelis can live in dignity and security. That would require Israel’s security to be guaranteed, Hamas no longer in charge in Gaza, and a bolstered Palestinian Authority. The leaders agreed on the importance of international cooperation to reach a sustainable long-term settlement to the crisis.

The Prime Minister closed the call by reaffirming his personal commitment to building on the long UK-Oman relationship, and the leaders looked forward to working closely together in the future.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 31 January 2024.

The Prime Minister launches this year’s Business Council today (31st January) and will meet with members throughout the year to discuss economic growth.

The Prime Minister launches this year’s Business Council today (31st January) and will meet with members throughout the year to discuss economic growth.

The council will have a regular meeting with the Prime Minister in Downing Street to share intelligence directly from the shop floor to help boost the UK economy and create jobs. The first meeting will take place next month.

It includes Chief Executives from:

• BT Group
• Nationwide
• Unilever
• Rolls-Royce
• Scottish Power
• Almac Group
• Barratt Developments
• ITV
• Lloyds Banking Group
• OMass Therapeutics
• Raspberry PI
• Principality Building Society
• Informed Solutions
• Castore
• Greggs

These firms account for over 200,000 employees from across the United Kingdom, and are intrinsic to the success of this nation, whether this be the delivery of critical infrastructure, the development of new homes, or the production of aircraft engines.

This year’s Business Council builds on the economic success of 2023, which saw the Government stabilise the economy, cut inflation in half, and deliver the biggest business tax cut in modern British history – worth over £50 billion over the next five years.

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:

Coming from a small business family, I know how integral business is to communities and the wider economy.

Without the jobs, growth, and innovation created by UK firms, the country simply wouldn’t function.

That’s why I’m getting businesses in for a regular update on how well we are doing in delivering for business – straight from the shop floor.

The newly appointed Business Council will be a forum to bring a real-world perspective on how the current economic climate is impacting business and how government and industry can work together to boost investment and innovation, drive productivity and create highly skilled jobs.

The Minister for Enterprise, Markets & Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake, and the PM’s Special Advisor on Business & Investment, Franck Petitgas, will also host quarterly meetings in Downing Street with small business representative groups to ensure the Government hears from a broad range of SMEs, in addition to those that sit on the Council.

This year’s Council will continue to provide insights on how we ensure the UK remains a great place to invest; as evidenced by the bumper investments that landed in 2023:

• Tata Group’s £4bn UK gigafactory
• BMW’s £600m commitment to develop electrical vehicle production in the UK
• Nissan’s £2bn to support two new electric vehicle models in Sunderland
• Microsoft’s £2.5bn investment in AI infrastructure
• The Global Investment Summit where £29.5bn of investment was committed to the UK
• The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement that will drive £20 billion more business investment per year by the end of the decade

Debbie Crosbie, CEO of Nationwide said:

Business and government have a common interest in strong economic growth. It releases investment for communities, funds improvements in public services, and inspires innovation. I’m delighted to work with the Prime Minister’s 2024 Business Council on new growth strategies and to keep the UK competitive.

Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls-Royce said:

Rolls-Royce welcomes the opportunity to continue its ongoing dialogue with Government, building partnerships between business and politics to promote growth in the UK economy.

Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower said:

The Prime Minister has set out clear ambitions to significantly speed up investments in the critical infrastructure we need to deliver energy security and decarbonisation. From clean homegrown energy to modern electricity networks, ScottishPower has a £12bn plan to invest at record levels to help make these ambitions a reality – creating the conditions for wider economic growth in the UK and unlocking skills and capabilities right across the domestic supply chain and in communities throughout the whole country.

David Thomas, CEO of Barratt Developments said:

I welcome the chance to join the Prime Minister’s 2024 Business Council, the opportunity to share the challenges faced by all housebuilders and discuss solutions for a vital sector which provides the new sustainable homes the country needs and is a powerful driver of economic growth across the UK.

Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV said:

ITV is a global company but one that remains firmly rooted in the UK – around half of our UK employees live and work outside of London in news teams and production bases across our nations and regions.  That’s why I want to work with the Government to create the right economic platform and incentives to encourage businesses to increase investment and economic activity across the UK, particularly in the development of skills and talent.

Ros Deegan, CEO of OMass Therapeutics said:

Given healthcare and scientific innovation is so strong and important to the United Kingdom, I am excited to accept this invitation and look forward to working with the Government and contributing to discussions around our scale up economy.

Elizabeth Vega, CEO of Informed Solutions said:

It is an honour to join the Prime Minister’s 2024 Business Council and help shape ambitious and dynamic policy that energises and sustains growth, productivity, international trade, and job opportunities across the UK. The UK needs great businesses with a growth, skills, innovation, and productivity mindset – from small to medium and large enterprises – to build a strong, resilient, and internationally competitive economy.

Thomas Beahon, CEO of Castore said:

It is a real honour to be joining the Prime Minister’s 2024 Business Council. I look forward to working with the PM and other business leaders from across the UK and making a positive contribution to the country’s long term economic growth priorities with a particular focus on bringing my experiences of starting and growing a business in the North of England.

Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi said:

At Raspberry Pi, we design computers and semiconductors, while our parent organisation, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, works to get young people excited about computing and electronics. I’m delighted to join the Prime Minister’s 2024 Business Council, and look forward to sharing perspectives on the needs of design and manufacturing companies in the UK high-tech ecosystem, and the opportunities for even greater focus on STEM skills in the school, further and continuing education sectors.

Julie-Ann Haines, CEO of Principality Building Society said:

I welcome the opportunity to sit on the Prime Minister’s 2024 Business Council and am proud there is representation from Wales and the mutual sector, bringing diversity of thought to the table. Housing and financial stability is critical to building a strong balanced economy which supports our communities and our mission to provide better homes, secure futures and a fairer society will be at the heart of the discussions.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 30 January 2024.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland.