Press briefing: morning 11 July 2013
The Prime Minister's Spokesperson answered questions on EU regulation, MPs pay, Faslane, and ONS statistics on children born out of wedlock.
Business-led taskforce on EU regulation
Asked about the government’s business-led taskforce on EU regulation, the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) said 6 business leaders would work with the government to identify EU regulations that need to be scrapped or reformed to help create a more flexible EU within which British companies and others can thrive.
IPSA proposals on MPs’ pay
Asked about IPSA’s proposals for MPs’ pay, the PMS said IPSA would consult on their proposals and review the issue of MPs’ pay after the election. The PMS went on to say that the Prime Minister did not agree that the cost of politics should go up. It should go down. Nor did he think that MPs’ pay should go up while public sector pay is being constrained.
Faslane
Asked whether the government was looking at designating Trident’s Faslane base as sovereign British territory in the event of a yes vote to independence, the PMS said this was not the case.
ONS statistics on children born out of wedlock
Asked about ONS statistics showing the number of children born out of wedlock, the PMS said the PM was a big believer in marriage and that all families bringing up children needed support. Asked whether a marriage tax allowance could reverse the trend, the PMS said there were 2 points to make. Firstly, the PM was a big believer in marriage. Secondly, that bringing up children is incredibly tough and all families need support. The government has implemented a number of measures to support all families including investments in childcare and cost of living measures such as keeping council tax down, scrapping fuel duty rises, reductions in rail fair increases and an increase in the personal allowance threshold which has taken two million people out of income tax.