PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has visited St Mary Cray Primary Academy in Orpington.
The aim of the visit was to see how they are delivering tutoring to help children catch up following the pandemic.
Here is what the Prime Minister said during an interview at the school:
Q. How concerned should we be about monkeypox?
Prime Minister: “I’m aware that it’s basically a very rare disease and so far the consequences don’t seem to be very serious but it’s important that we keep an eye on it and that’s exactly what the new UK Health Security Agency is doing.”
Q. Some countries are looking at quarantine for visitors and using smallpox vaccines, should we be doing that?
Mr Johnson: “As things stand the judgment is that it’s rare. I think we’re looking very carefully at the circumstances of transmission.
“It hasn’t yet proved fatal in any case that we know of, certainly not in this country.
“The UK Health Security Agency – a new body – is obviously following it very closely.”
Q. What did you talk about in your meeting with Sue Gray?
Prime Minister: “I’m, with great respect, not going to comment or give any running commentary on her report until we get it and I think that – to be frank – the moment is not very far off, it can’t be long now before I’ll be able to say something but I really want to wait – as I’ve said for a long time now – until Sue reports.”
Q. Did you initiate the meeting?
Mr Johnson: “I’m not giving any running commentary on the process in any way until the independent report is produced. I think that is reasonable. I’ve been asked to comment on all sorts of things over the last few months.
“We’re here, for instance, to talk about the incredible national tutoring programme that we launched to help pupils catch up from Covid, and it’s going gangbusters. Here in this school at St Mary Cray in Orpington they’re giving kids tutoring, one on one, or one to three, one to two – it makes a huge difference.
“When I was in primary school in London, I benefited massively from a teacher that took a direct personal interest in me. I know what a difference it can make.
“And I think that the tutoring programme is something that will give tutoring – some parents have it anyway, they buy it in – but this will give (it to) kids who don’t normally have access to that kind of direct personal interest, care.
“And for me, it’s levelling up. It’s giving kids opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
“So what we want to do is to get them – if you think about it, at 11, year six, 65% of our kids and our pupils currently have good enough reading, writing and mathematics. We want to get that up to 90%.
“Now imagine the change for our country if you go from 65% to 90%, it will be absolutely transformational for the chances of people growing up in this country.”
Q. Is Sue Gray’s report going to be independent?
Prime Minister: “Of course. But on the process, you’re just going to have to hold your horses a little bit longer.
“I don’t believe it will be too much longer. And then I’ll be able to say a bit more.”
Q. Are you ideologically opposed to a windfall tax?
Mr Johnson: “I don’t like new taxes and I think it’s very important that we focus on investment and jobs.
“Now, the reason we’re in a strong position to help people is because you’ve got unemployment at the lowest level since 1974 – when I was in a primary school like this.
“So that’s massively important and it enables us to use our fiscal firepower, our taxpayers’ money, to help people and we’re going to continue to do that.“
Q. So a windfall tax is not un-Conservative?
Prime Minister: “No option is off the table, let’s be absolutely clear about that. I’m not attracted, intrinsically, to new taxes.
“But as I’ve said throughout, we’ve got to do what we can – and we will – to look after people through the aftershocks of Covid, through the current pressures on energy prices that we’re seeing post-Covid and with what’s going on in Russia.
“And we’re going to put our arms around people, just as we did during the pandemic.”
Q. Almost two weeks ago you said there would be an announcement within days, when are we going to hear something?
Prime Minister: “Don’t forget what we’ve already done – £22 billion we’ve already put in to help people, £9.1 billion to help with energy costs, £150 off your council tax, increased warm homes allowance and of course the cut in national insurance contributions which – on average – will be worth £330 for somebody on average earnings, a £330 cut in NI, that comes in in July.
“So there’s a continuing stream of effort to shield people.”
Q. More to come?
Prime Minister: “Of course. This thing is going to go on, everybody can see the increase in energy prices. There is more that we’re going to do. But again, you’ll just have to wait a little bit longer.”
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