Press briefing: afternoon 18 November 2014
The Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson answered questions on EU migrants, the economy, net migration and the attack in Jerusalem.
EU migrants
When asked about EU migrants receiving child benefits, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson (PMOS) said the Prime Minister and his colleagues would continue to take this issue forward with EU partners and the European Commission. He added the government had already tightened rules so EU migrants had to wait 3 months after arriving in the UK before they could claim child benefit and child tax credits.
The economy
When asked whether the Prime Minister believed the economy was fixed, the PMOS said the Prime Minister’s view was that the long term economic plan was working and that it was right to stick to it.
Net migration
When asked about the government’s objective to get net migration below 100,000, the PMOS said this remained the objective towards which the Prime Minister and others were working to. He said the increase in recent periods from countries such as Spain and Portugal was linked to the economic performance in the Eurozone.
On the question of what action government was taking to get money back from the EU, the PMOS pointed to the announcement made by Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in July to recoup £500 million a year for the NHS as an example.
Jerusalem attack
When asked about the Prime Minister’s reaction to the attack in Jerusalem today, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was appalled by what had happened in the synagogue and his sympathy and thoughts were with the families.