The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by updating on the collision
between the two vessels in the North Sea yesterday morning,
including the fact one of the crew remains missing. He said
the Department for Transport continues to lead the government
response, with officials meeting regularly to discuss pollution
and environmental impacts.
The Prime Minister then turned to the future of the state, ahead
of his intervention on Thursday. He emphasised that recent global
events had shown the pace at which the world is changing, and the
impact that global insecurity has domestically. He said that to
deliver security and renewal we must go further and faster to
reform the state, to deliver a strong, agile and active
state that delivers for working people. This included Cabinet
assessing processes and regulations that play no part in
delivering the Plan for Change, and the government taking
responsibility for decisions rather than outsourcing them to
regulators and bodies as had become the trend under the
previous government.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster added that this
government believes in the power of the state to deliver security
and stability, but that the previous government took an outdated
approach to forever hiring more people and spending more money.
He outlined the changes he was making to the civil service
and performance management
to incentivise delivery, and the need for more digital
and tech enabled staff, akin to what any big organisation would
have in place.
The leaders of the Commons and the Lords then updated
on business in both houses, including the introduction of the
Planning and Infrastructure Bill this afternoon in the Commons,
the Employment Rights Bill completing its final stages in the
Commons today and tomorrow, and Report stage of the
Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill in the Commons next week.
The Prime Minister introduced the Chancellor's update on the
economy, noting the work the government had already done to
tackle the fiscal black hole and invest in public services,
against the backdrop of global instability that has undermined
security and prosperity at home. He said the government had
already taken decisive action on defence with our commitment to
increase spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP from 2027 – which
will boost jobs and growth across the country – and that economic
stability remained the foundation of the Plan for Change.
The Chancellor said the country had experienced what had happened
when the previous government lost control of the public finances
and the impact that had on working people, including through the
cost of mortgages. She reiterated the government would always
take decisions in the interests of working people, and that is
why the Budget restored economic stability while investing
significantly in growth and public services.
