§ Lord ELTONasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will fulfil the undertaking given on 5th May to provide fuller information about treaties referred to in draft orders laid before the House under Section 1(3) of the European Communities Act.
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSIn order to assist Parliament in the consideration of draft orders under Section 1(3) of the European Communities Act, the Government will, to accompany future orders, provide a summary of the content and context of the treaties being specified and an opinion (subject to the caveat that final judgment would lie with the courts) as to the clauses in them which would be likely to become directly applicable as Community law in the United Kingdom. It is the Government's intention to provide this information in the form of an Explanatory Memorandum for the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments. Copies of this Memorandum will also be deposited in the Printed Paper Office when the Motion to move the order first appears on the Order Paper.
House adjourned at twenty-one minutes before nine o'clock.