Downing Street lobby briefing on HMP Birmingham, EU nationals after Brexit and apprenticeships
2 min read
At a briefing for lobby journalists today a spokeperson for Theresa May was asked about the crisis at HMP Birmingham, the rights of EU nationals in the UK after Brexit and the apprenticeships target.
HMP BIRMINGHAM
Asked when the PM knew about the crisis at HMP Birmingham, the spokesperson said: "The Government has been working with G4S on the issues for some time now trying to address them but it became clear that what was needed was new leadership so we’ve taken that decision and we’ve appointed an experienced governor and experienced staff to work on the problems there and we will seek to see improvement very quickly."
POST- BREXIT MIGRANT RIGHTS
Asked what the Government was doing to secure the rights of UK nationals living on the continent after Brexit - in light of leaks about a unilateral deal for EU citizens in Britain - the spokesperson said: "One of the priorities for us right from the get go in the talks was securing the rights of EU citizens living here.
"That’s why we moved swiftly to agree something the EU early. But I would also point you to what Dominic Raab said a few weeks ago about EU citizens living here. He said there is not deal until we have a deal, but the idea we would not move swiftly to secure the legal position of EU citizens here is far-fetched and wouldn’t happen, so we have been clear that they are a priority for us regardless."
APPRENTICESHIPS
Asked if the Government was confident of reaching its target of creating three million apprentices by 2020, the spokesperson said: "In the last 12 months over 100,000 more people have started on our new higher quality apprenticeships and we have seen an increase of 986% in the number of people starting on these. Our reforms are driving up the quality of apprenticeships and we are continuing to work on increasing them."
Asked a second time if the Government was confident it would hit the target, the spokesperson said: "The numbers are continuing to rise we are putting more people on the path to success across a range of exciting industries and we continue to work with industry to improve the numbers."
When it was noted that the answer was not a clear 'yes or no', the spokesperson said nothing.
