Tag: Downing Street

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 7 October 2022.

Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke to the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, this afternoon.

The Prime Minister updated on her visit to the European Political Community meeting yesterday, and the leaders agreed that international unity was vital in such challenging global times.

Discussing the winter ahead, the Prime Minister welcomed the UK and Qatar’s close relationship on energy, and said the UK was taking vital steps to shore up its energy independence for the long term. She added that the UK wanted to become a net energy exporter by 2040.

The leaders also welcomed the increased defence and trade cooperation between the UK and Qatar, which bolstered economic growth and security in both countries.

The Amir said he looked forward to welcoming fans to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup next month, and thanked the Prime Minister for the UK’s support in ensuring it was a successful tournament.

The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 6 October 2022.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 6 October 2022.

Prime Minister Liz Truss and President Emmanuel Macron met in the margins of the first Summit of the European Political Community in Prague.

They underlined their determination to provide all necessary support to Ukraine for as long as it takes to restore Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, to resist Russian aggression, and to hold Russia to account for its actions.

The President and the Prime Minister reaffirmed the strong and historic ties between their two countries. They agreed to hold the next UK-France Summit in 2023 in France to take forward a renewed bilateral agenda.

Energy transition and decoupling from Russian hydro-carbons are common challenges. The Prime Minister and the President discussed advancing bilateral cooperation in particular on energy. They reaffirmed their belief that both renewable and nuclear energies are part of consistent strategies to achieve energy transition and strategic autonomy. They confirmed the full support of the UK and French Governments for the new nuclear power station at Sizewell and expect the relevant bodies to finalise arrangements in the coming month.

The leaders committed to advance and increase UK-France civil-nuclear cooperation, including on innovation, infrastructure development and workforce skills, ahead of next year’s UK-France Summit.

They further agreed to deepen cooperation on illegal migration within the bounds of international law, to tackle criminal groups trafficking people across Europe, ending in dangerous journeys across the Channel. Interior Ministers should conclude an ambitious package of measures this autumn. Leaders agreed to reinforce cooperation with near neighbours, including through an early meeting of the Calais group.

President Macron and Prime Minister Truss welcomed the quality of the discussions during the first summit of the European Political Community and look forward to next steps.

 

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 6 October 2022.

The Prime Minister met the Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in Prague this morning.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Fiala for hosting today’s gathering of European leaders, welcoming the important opportunity to discuss regional issues like energy security and migration.

The leaders were in strong agreement on the importance of likeminded European democracies presenting a united front against Putin’s brutality.

They discussed the UK and Czech Republic’s early support for Ukraine’s defence and the need to continue military aid, help on reconstruction and sanctions on Putin’s regime.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Fiala also noted opportunities for our countries to work together to secure long-term energy supplies, including cooperation on nuclear and renewables.

Both leaders welcomed the prospect of the United Kingdom resuming participation in the North Seas Energy Cooperation group. The Prime Minister looked forward to work progressing at pace on developing next-generation energy interconnectors in the region.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 6 October 2022.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 2 October 2022.

Thousands of the UK’s fastest-growing businesses will be released from reporting requirements and other regulations in the future, as part of plans aimed at boosting productivity and supercharging growth, Prime Minister Liz Truss announced earlier today (Sunday 2 October).

Currently, small businesses are presumed to be exempt from certain regulations. However, many medium sized businesses – those with between 50 and 249 employees – still report that they are spending over 22 staff days per month on average dealing with regulation, and over half of all businesses consider regulation to be a burden to their operation.

The Prime Minister has announced plans to widen these exemptions to businesses with fewer than 500 employees for future and reviewed regulations, meaning an additional 40,000 businesses will be freed from future bureaucracy and the accompanying paperwork that is expensive and burdensome for all but the largest firms.

The exemption will be applied in a proportionate way to ensure workers’ rights and other standards will be protected, while at the same time reducing the burden for growing businesses.

Regulatory exemptions are often granted for SMEs, which the EU defines at below 250 employees. However, we are free to take our own approach and exempt more businesses to those with under 500 employees. We will also be able to apply this to retained EU law currently under review, which we would not have been able to do without our exit from the EU.

The changed threshold will apply from tomorrow (Monday 3 October) to all new regulations under development as well as those under current and future review, including retained EU laws. The government will also look at plans to consult in the future on potentially extending the threshold to businesses with 1,000 employees, once the impact on the current extension is known.

This is the first step in a package of reforms to ensure UK business regulation works for the UK economy. The reforms will harness the freedoms the UK has since leaving the EU to remove bureaucratic and burdensome regulations on businesses, while streamlining and making it easier for them to comply with existing rules, ultimately saving them valuable time and money.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 1 October 2022.

The Prime Minister welcomed Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to Downing Street today.

The leaders stressed the need to stay united in the face of Russia’s despicable actions in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Frederiksen updated the Prime Minister on the damage caused to the Nord Stream pipelines last week. They agreed the incidents were clearly an act of sabotage. The Prime Minister offered the UK’s support for the ongoing investigation.

The leaders agreed that the safety and security of the Baltic Sea is in everyone’s interest, and welcomed increased cooperation through the Joint Expeditionary Force.

On energy security more widely, the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Frederiksen agreed on the need for likeminded democracies to work together to increase our energy independence.

The Prime Minister outlined the steps the UK has taken to decrease energy bills in the short-term and bolster our energy supply in the longer term. The leaders agreed to further UK-Danish cooperation in areas like wind power, where our countries are global pioneers.

 

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 1 October 2022.

Households, businesses and public sector organisations across the country will be protected from significant rises in energy bills, thanks to new government support taking effect from today (Saturday 1 October).

Without Government action, average household energy bills under the energy price cap had been due to rise to around £3,500 a year in October – a rise of 80% on current bills. Next year, they were estimated to increase even further to as high as £6,500.

From today, the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee will limit the price households pay per unit of gas and electricity they use.

It means a typical household in Great Britain will pay around £2,500 per year, starting this month for the next two years – saving an average £1,000 a year on their energy bills.

Households will also see the first instalment of the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme in their October electricity bill. The discount will be automatically applied monthly in six instalments between October 2022 and March 2023.

Thanks to the government’s support, energy bills will now be close to where they’ve been for the past six months – and it will curb inflation by 5 percentage points, boosting economic growth, controlling the rising cost of goods, and reducing the cost of servicing the national debt.

This necessary intervention makes up the biggest proportion the Government’s fiscal package set out in the Growth Plan.

Prime Minister Liz Truss said:

I know people across the country are anxious about their energy bills, which is why we have acted quickly to help them.

Livelihoods and businesses were at stake. The government’s energy support limits the price they pay for gas and electricity, shields them from massive bill increases, and is expected to curb inflation too.

The cost of not acting would have been enormous. To make sure the British public is not left in this position again, we are also fixing the problem at its source by scaling up home-grown energy and reducing reliance on foreign supplies to boost our energy security and independence.

The UK Government is also urging people today to stay alert to scams and fraudulent messages. There is no need to apply for the schemes, with most customers receiving today’s support automatically through their electricity bill.

Households in Northern Ireland will also receive the same support through the Energy Price Guarantee from November, with support for October bills backdated so they see the same benefit overall.

Those who might live in an area of the UK that is not served by the gas grid or use alternative fuels such as heating oil to heat their home will receive a £100 payment to support them with their energy bills.

Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said:

While Putin’s weaponisation of energy has driven energy prices to record highs, we will not let his regime harm this country’s businesses and households.

Unprecedented government support is beginning this weekend, protecting families and businesses across the country from what was going to be an 80% increase in energy bills this winter.

“I also urge people today to stay alert to scams. This support will reach people automatically and there is no need to apply.”

British businesses have also been experiencing significant increases in energy costs, with some reports of more than 500%. Businesses, charities and public sector organisations will also be protected through the Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme from October over the next six months.

This support is equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households and similarly discounts price per unit of gas and electricity, meaning businesses and others will pay wholesale energy costs well below half of expected prices for this winter.

In parallel, the Government is also taking decisive steps to tackle the root cause of the issues in the UK energy market through boosting British energy supply and increasing independence to ensure this doesn’t happen again. This includes the work of our Energy Supply Taskforce, a new oil and gas licensing round, lifting the moratorium on UK shale gas production, and driving forward progress on nuclear and renewables.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 28 September 2022.

The Prime Minister spoke to President Zelenksyy this afternoon to underline the UK’s steadfast support in light of Russia’s sham referendums in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister made clear that the UK would never recognise Russian attempts to annexe sovereign territory. She reiterated that Ukraine could depend on the UK’s support until President Putin was defeated.

President Zelenskyy updated the Prime Minister on the current military situation, and welcomed her strong backing, including at the UN General Assembly last week.

The Prime Minister thanked President Zelenksyy for his work in securing the release of five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine.

The leaders also discussed how the UK and Ukraine could work together to secure Ukraine’s gas supplies in the long term.

Both agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days and weeks.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 26 September 2022.

Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this afternoon, in their first call since she took on the role.

The Prime Minister thanked the Crown Prince for his personal role in securing the release of five British detainees held by Russia-backed forces in Eastern Ukraine last week, to the great relief of their families.

They discussed the strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia across a range of issues, including cooperation on defence and energy security. The leaders welcomed progress in ending the conflict in Yemen and agreed on the importance of continuing political dialogue to extend the truce.

The Prime Minister reiterated her focus on agreeing a strong UK-GCC trade deal and growing bilateral trade and investment in areas like aviation and clean technology. She also offered the UK’s continued support and encouragement for progress in Saudi Arabia’s domestic reforms.

The Crown Prince extended his sincere condolences on the death of Her Majesty the Queen, and the leaders looked forward to continuing to grow the strong relationship fostered during her late Majesty’s reign.