Number 10 Press Briefing - Afternoon From 28 November 2011
From the Prime Minister's spokesperson on the Autumn statement and strikes.
Autumn statement
Asked about the timing of the economic forecasts from the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) compared with the timing of the Autumn Statement, the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) referred the assembled media to the OBR and the Treasury for details on choreography for Tuesday.
Strikes
Asked if the Prime Minister (PM) had chaired a meeting on contingency planning ahead the strikes, the PMS confirmed that he had.
Asked if there would be a further update on the likely impact of the strikes, the PMS said that no statements were planned but that Government would be working with the public sector to address the likely disruption strike action could cause.
Asked what the PM had done to mitigate strike action over the past few hours, the PMS replied that Government had tried to work constructively with the unions over a number of months and that conversations were still ongoing on the different schemes.
Put that no offer had been made to the unions, the PMS denied this and said that there was an improved offer on the table, which was a good and fair deal.
Put that Lord Henley had told the House of Lords that contingency planning had been taking place since April, the PMS replied that Government always has contingency plans in place and said that, given the strike earlier in the year UKBA would want to ensure robust measures were in place. He referred the media to the Home Office for further details.