Number 10 Lobby briefing on rail chaos, Brexit, immigration and abortion
3 min read
Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.
RAIL CHAOS
On the chaos caused by hundreds of train cancellations and delays in the north of England, the spokesman said: "We have tremendous sympathy with everyone who has had their rail journey delayed or disrupted. What we've seen has been totally unaccpetable. The Transport Secretary is in constant talks with Network Rail and he has been clear with them that they were too late in finalising the timetabling changes and that this must not happen again.
"Train companies are working to minimise disruption, and while what we've seen has clearly been terribly disruptive, we are investing in the biggest modernisation of the railways since Victorian times and this timetable will deliver hundreds more services up and down the country."
BREXIT
On reports that the Department for Exiting the European Union has drawn up studies predicting economic armageddon in the event that the Government fails to reach a withdrawal agreement with the EU, the spokesman said: "The department has said that these claims are completely false. A significant amount of work and decision-making has gone into our no deal plans, especially as it relates to ports, and we know that none of this will happen. We have been clear throughout that we will be fully prepared for all scenarios."
Asked what the Prime Minister hoped to achieve from the EU Council meeting later this month, he said: "We're working towards reaching agreement in October and the June council is a staging post towards that."
IMMIGRATION
On reports that the Government is preparing to lift the cap on Tier 2 visas for non-EU doctors, the spokesman said: "Currently around one-third of all Tier 2 places go to the NHS and there are now record numbers working in the NHS, the latest figures showing there are more than 14,700 doctors and 13,100 nurses on our wards than in 2010. But visa routes are always under review and we are monitoring the situation in relation to visa applications for doctors, including the monthly limits through the Tier 2 visa route.
"The Government fully recongises the contribution that international professionals make to the UK and we do keep visa routes under review. However it's important that our immigration system works in the national interest and ensures that employers look first to the resident labour market before recruiting from overseas."
Asked whether the Prime Minister is still committed to reducing net migration to less than 100,000, he said: "Yes, absolutely. The public have been very clear in their wish to have net migration reduced to sustainable levels. The Home Secretary was very clear [on TV yesterday] of his commitment to the manifesto and said that meant bringing migration down to a sustainable level.
"We've always said that this is a process that will take time but if you look at the most recent set of figures, net migration is falling. We are fully committed to reaching this target, the Prime Minister has been clear it will take time."
ABORTION
On calls for abortion rights available in the rest of the UK to be extended to Northern Ireland, the spokesman said: "We want to see devolved government in Northern Ireland restored so that locally-elected, democratically-accountable politicians can debate fundemental changes and the people of Northern Ireland have a direct say in the process. We recognise there are strongly-held views on all sides of the debate and that's why our focus is on restoring that democratically-accountable devolved government."
