Tag: Downing Street

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 4 September 2008.

Gordon Brown has promised that the Government will “do what it takes” to help families deal with the effects of the global economic crisis such as rising food and energy costs.

Speaking to business leaders at the CBI Scotland annual dinner in Glasgow this evening, the PM said that the Government would make “careful interventions” on behalf of “hard-pressed families”. In addition to the Homeowners Support Package and the £120-a-year tax cut for basic rate taxpayers, the Government was “working up proposals” with utility companies on tackling rising fuel bills.

The PM said:

“We will do what it takes to bring security to families on modest and middle incomes. And we will ensure that no-one who is prepared to work hard and adapt to change will lose out as a result of global forces. We will act responsibly to prepare people for the inescapable challenges ahead – in the short, medium and long term.”

Mr Brown also said that the UK was better placed as a whole to deal with the credit crunch than during any other period of financial turbulence. He highlighted Bank of England independence, a flexible labour market, the underlying strength of business finances and a reduction in public debt as a share of national income as reasons to be “cautiously optimistic” about the country’s economic resilience.

The PM added that Britain needed to undergo a “revolution” in its energy consumption, reducing its dependence on oil, increasing energy efficiency and creating a low carbon economy . The Government plans to spend £100 billion to ensure that 15 percent of the UK’s energy comes from renewables by 2020.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 5 September 2008.

On Saturday, over 200 athletes across 18 sports will begin competing in Britain’s Paralympic squad.

Continuing our success in the Olympics, Britain’s Paralympic team is one of the biggest of all time and hopes to increase its impressive medal haul of four years ago.

The PM has sent a message of good luck to all the British competitors wishing “our Paralympic athletes every success”.

The PM said:

“The Paralympics is a great sporting event – the second largest in the world after the Olympics – and I know our athletes will do us proud. We have a fantastic record of achievement in the Paralympics and I’m sure this year will be no exception. I wish our Paralympic athletes every success and I know the whole country will be right behind them.”

The team includes many Paralympic medalists returning to defend their titles as well as a record number of teenagers making their debut.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 8 September 2008.

The Government has launched its new strategy on manufacturing aimed at helping UK businesses adapt to a changing world and make the most of economic opportunities.

The strategy paper, Manufacturing: New Challenges New Opportunities, includes a commitment to expand apprenticeships by 1,500 places in addition to the 9,000 places to be created over the next three years.

There will also be a £24 million injection into manufacturing and production research, support for up to 600 businesses looking at supply chain opportunities in China and India, and a strategy paper to be delivered next year on helping UK companies adapt to a low carbon economy.

Writing in the foreword, the PM said that “manufacturing not only has been, but remains and will always be, critical to the success of the British economy.”

Mr Brown marked the manufacturing strategy launch with a visit to the Jaguar car plant in Castle Bromwich. He accompanied Chancellor Alistair Darling, Business Secretary John Hutton and Skills Secretary John Denham on a tour of the facilities and met young people enrolled in the company’s apprenticeship programme.

Speaking to reporters, the PM said that the workforce at Jaguar displayed the “enthusiasm and determination” that will see UK industry enjoy success into the future.

Later the PM and ministers will hold an engagement event with members of the public in Birmingham before holding a full cabinet meeting.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 September 2008.

The Prime Minister has awarded a special badge of recognition to men and women who served in the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during the Second World War.

The awards were handed out at a reception in Downing Street today in honour of the men and women of the ATA, including female pilots known as the ‘Spitfire Women’, for their contribution to the war effort. The ATA supplied more than 309,000 aircraft from factories to front line airfields during the war and returned them when they were damaged.

The PM said:

“I am honoured to have this opportunity to give my thanks to the men and women of the ATA. Their dedication and efforts during the Second World War can not be overestimated. They can be rightly proud of their contribution to defending this country during its darkest hours. It is a great privilege to meet so many of them today and to hear of the work they undertook and their sacrifice they made to ensure the delivery of aircraft for the front line.”

173 air crew personnel lost their lives on ATA missions, including Amy Johnson, the pioneering female civil aviator.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 September 2008.

Gordon Brown has promised to work with “courage and vision” on behalf of “hard-pressed, hard-working British families” battling with rising costs and the effects of the credit crunch.

Speaking at a dinner event at the annual Trades Union Congress, Mr Brown pointed to a number of Government initiatives such as the housing package, the cut in income tax for basic rate tax payers, additional payments to over-60s on top of the WInter Fuel Payment, and measures aimed at improving the energy efficiency of British households to be announced later this week.

The PM said:

“So we need to respond with courage and vision to the new insecurities facing hard-pressed, hard-working British families. Because while the global changes happening all around us are complex, the instincts they summon up in people are not. In tough times, people are understandably anxious. They want to know how they can have a fair chance to cope…

“We will work to share the risks and riches of the new global economy in a fair way, and to equip people with the skills they need to manage the risks and seize the opportunities this new world presents.”

Mr Brown spoke on a number of other priorities that the Government has tackled, including working towards a pensions settlement, improving employment rights and expanding training and apprenticeship opportunities.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 7 January 2023.

Clinical leaders, health experts and ministers to convene in Downing Street for an NHS Recovery Forum today.

In addition to his regular meetings on the health service, the Prime Minister will host the Forum to bring together experts from across the health and care sector to identify opportunities to go further and faster on improving performance and outcomes.

The Forum will major on four crucial issues: social care and delayed discharge; urgent and emergency care; elective care; and primary care.

Some of the best health and care minds in the country will use the session to share best practice and to understand whether any innovations developed at a local level could be applied to other regional areas or on a national basis.

As the Prime Minister set out in his speech earlier this week, innovation is at the heart of the government’s approach and will be a vital aspect of the solution, and so Forum attendees will include representatives from both the public and independent sector to ensure we’re harnessing a wide spread of expertise and talent.

The Forum is the next step in the significant action that the government has taken to improve outcomes and relieve the immediate pressures on the NHS and in social care caused by the pandemic, with further pressures due to the recent rise in covid and flu cases.

On improving capacity in the NHS, the government has provided an extra £500 million to speed up hospital discharge this winter and we’re also increasing bed capacity by the equivalent of 7,000 more beds.

The NHS is rolling out virtual wards across England, with an ambition to establish 40-50 virtual ward beds per 100k population, by December 2023. Virtual wards are where people, for example, who have acute respiratory infections can actually be treated at home with telemedicine or pulse oximeters and there is also a new fall service which can save about 55,000 ambulance call outs a year by treating people with falls at home.

In total, the government will invest up to £14.1 billion additional funding over the next two years to improve urgent and emergency care and tackle the backlog – the highest spend on health and care in any government’s history. £7.5 billion of this support is for adult social care and discharge over the next two years, which will also help deal with immediate pressures.

91 Community Diagnostic Centres have been opened so far and they have delivered over 2.7 million tests, checks and scans to help diagnose patients earlier.

The government is also continuing to grow the NHS workforce, with around 42,000 more staff than a year ago, including over 10,500 more nurses and almost 4,700 more doctors.

The government is investing at least £1.5 billion to create an extra 50 million general practice appointments by 2024, while the NHS is accelerating the rollout of new state-of-the-art telephone systems to make it easier for patients get through to their GP surgeries.

Earlier in the week, the Prime Minister set out one of his key promises that NHS waiting lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly. He also pledged to make sure the NHS is built around patients.

The Forum will run for the majority of Saturday and attendees will include chief executives and clinical leaders from NHS organisations, local areas and councils from across the country, clinical experts from Royal Colleges and independent sector organisations working with health and social care services to deliver services for patients.

The Health and Social Care Secretary, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NHS England will attend the Forum.

A Downing Street Spokesperson said:

As the Prime Minister made clear this week, easing the immediate pressures whilst also focussing on the long-term improvement of the NHS is one of his key promises.

That’s why we’re bringing together the best minds from the health and care sectors to help share knowledge and practical solutions so that we can tackle the most crucial challenges such as delayed discharge and emergency care.

We want to correct the unwarranted variation in NHS performance between local areas, because no matter where you live you should be able to access quality healthcare.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2008.

The Prime Minister has marked the 30th anniversary of the Motability scheme by presenting three disabled people with the keys to their Motability cars in Downing Street.

The event also marked the milestone of putting 500,000 Motability cars on the road and giving disabled people access to affordable, convenient, trouble-free motoring.

The PM, a Senior Patron of the Motability Scheme, congratulated Motability for the “vital role” the organisation plays in giving disabled people freedom and independence.

The PM said:

“Motability is a remarkable organisation that plays a vital role in helping disabled people up and down the country to maintain their independence.  It is an outstanding example of the voluntary sector, the business community and Government all working together in a successful partnership.”

Among those receiving keys to a new car were Mark Sutcliffe, an army corporal who lost his leg in a terrorist attack while serving in Iraq.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2008.

The Prime Minister has attended a special service at St Paul’s cathedral in London to commemorate the efforts of more than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces who served on Operation Banner in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007.

The service was attended by more than 2,000 veterans and family members as well as Defence Secretary Des Browne, the Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall,  Baroness Thatcher and Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup.

Readings were given by representatives from the three Services, the chair of the Northern Ireland Veterans Association Andrew Bennett, and 13-year-old Nicola-Louise Scanlon, the daughter of an Operation Banner veteran who lives in Northern Ireland.

In a Downing Street statement, the PM said:

“We owe a debt of gratitude to all service personnel who served on Operation Banner between 1969 and 2007, and especially those who gave their lives. They helped create the conditions for the peace Northern Ireland now enjoys, and today we salute their courage. It is in their honour, and for all the people of Northern Ireland, that all those committed to the Province’s future must work together to ensure a lasting peace.”

After the service, 700 veterans marched through the city to the London Guildhall and HRH The Prince of Wales took the salute outside the cathedral.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2008.

The Prime Minister has issued a written ministerial statement to Parliament updating MPs on the latest developments in the Georgia/Russia conflict.

The PM gave details of the discussions the UK and international partners have been involved in and explained the six point agreement that was brokered by the EU and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on 12 August.

He stressed the EU’s unanimous condemnation of Russia’s decision to recognise the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and gave details of the humanitarian support the UK will be giving to Georgia.

He said:

“Russia’s actions were in clear breach of international law and of successive UN Security Council Resolutions…

“The Council and the Commission have been tasked to start preparations for an international conference to bring focus to reconstruction efforts. The UK will play its part. We have already committed £2million to Georgia in humanitarian aid.”

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2008.

Gordon Brown has welcomed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to 10 Downing Street for bilateral talks.

In a post-discussion press briefing, Mr Brown highlighted the UK and Italy’s shared analysis of current global issues such as the credit crunch and the rise in energy and other commodity prices.

The two countries have pledged to work more closely on matters such as developing nuclear power and carbon capture and storage technology as part of a strategy to obtain secure energy supplies and tackle climate change, he said.

Mr Brown and Mr Berlusconi said they would press the European Investment Bank to do more to help small businesses across the EU struggling to borrow in the current economic climate.

The PM said both countries also welcomed the French-brokered agreement between the EU and Russia on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia. The UK sought “good relations” with Russia and it was important for both Russia and Georgia to abide by their commitments, he said.