HC Deb 10 June 2002 vol 386 cc998-1003W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods between member states is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [58440]

Mr. Boateng

I have been asked to reply.

The legal basis for the Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods between member states is at Article 29 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3330/91. The mandate of the committee is to examine any question relating to the implementation of this regulation.

The committee has met three times over the last 12 months.

The UK is normally represented by two officials from HM Customs and Excise.

Travel expenses for one official are reimbursed by the Commission. The usual cost of overnight accommodation and subsistence per day per official is 224 euro (£146.40).

Items considered by the committee all relate to the implementation, interpretation and application of EC legislation dealing with the collection of intra EC trade statistics.

Accountability and transparency to Parliament is ensured by the regular EU process. EU documents which fall within the Scrutiny Terms of Reference are deposited with Parliament along with an Explanatory Memorandum for examination by the Scrutiny Committees.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods with non-member countries is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [58441]

Mr. Boateng

I have been asked to reply.

The legal basis for the Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods with non-member countries is at Article 20 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1172/95. The mandate of the committee is to examine any question relating to the implementation of this regulation.

The committee has met three times over the last 12 months.

The UK is normally represented by two officials from HM Customs and Excise.

Travel expenses for one official are reimbursed by the Commission. The usual cost of overnight accommodation and subsistence per day per official is 224 euro (£146.40).

Items considered by the committee all relate to the implementation, interpretation and application of EC legislation dealing with the collection of intra EC trade statistics.

Accountability and transparency to Parliament is ensured by the regular EU process. EU documents which fall within the Scrutiny Terms of Reference are deposited with Parliament along with an Explanatory Memorandum for examination by the Scrutiny Committees.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Contact Committee on combating money laundering is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [56749]

Ruth Kelly

I have been asked to reply.

The role and responsibilities of the Contact Committee on Money Laundering are set out in Article 13 of Council Directive 91/308/EEC of 10 June 1991 on prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering (Official Journal L166, 28/06/1991 P. 0077–0083).

The committee meets either at the request of the chair or of the delegation of a member state. Since May 2001, it has met three times. The UK is represented by officials from HM Treasury and the Home Office.

The information regarding the annual cost of the committee's work to public funds can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

At its most recent meeting, the committee considered implementation of the Second EU Money Laundering Directive, the anti-money laundering systems in accession candidate countries, protecting employees making Suspicious Transaction Reports and implementation of the Financial Action Task Force Special Recommendations on terrorist financing.

The Contact Committee on Money Laundering is primarily intended to facilitate consultation between officials from member states and to allow for exchange of views and experiences on money laundering issues. The committee does not take any decisions.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Committee for the Adaptation to Technical Progress of the Directive on the Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade in Construction Plant and Equipment is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [55214]

Ms Hewitt

It is my understanding that the hon. Member is referring to the Committee on the Adaptation to Technical Progress set up under Article 4 of Directive 79/113/EEC on the approximation of laws of the member states relating to the determination of the noise emission of construction plant and equipment. This committee has not met for several years because Directive 79/113/EEC was being superseded by Directive 2000/14/EC and was repealed on 3 January 2002 when Directive 2000/14/EC came fully into force. There is therefore no cost to public funds.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [55218]

Ms Hewitt

I have nothing further to add to the answer 1 gave to the hon. Member's questions numbers 55219, 55220, and 55221 on 22 May 2002,Official Report, columns 343ߝ44W.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Committee for the Adaptation to Technical Progress of Directives on the Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade in the Lifting and Mechanical Handling of Appliances is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [55373]

Ms Hewitt

Directive 84/528/EEC, on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to common provisions for lifting and mechanical handling appliances, was repealed on 1 July 1999 by the Lifts Directive 95/16/EC. The work of the above committee has been incorporated into the Standing Committee for the Lifts Directive. I therefore refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 May 2002,Official Report, column 235W.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Advisory Committee on concentrations between undertakings is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [55222]

Ms Hewitt

The Advisory Committee on concentrations between undertakings is the body through which the European Commission carries out its duty to consult the competent authorities of the member states before making certain decisions on cases being considered under the EC Merger Regulation (Regulation (EEC) 4064/89 as amended). These decisions concern declaring whether a concentration is compatible with the common market following a detailed 'Phase 2' investigation, and decisions on the imposition of fines and penalty payments. The Advisory Committee may also be convened to discuss policy issues relating to the implementation of the EC Merger regulation.

The DTI, the OFT and the Competition Commission are all competent authorities for the purposes of the ECMR. In practice, however, the UK is almost always represented at the Advisory Committee by the OFT.

The committee meets as required, dependant upon the number of cases reaching the relevant stages of the ECMR process. The committee has met 16 times in the last 12 months. Cases that are currently subject to a phase 2 investigation under the ECMR and, as such, may come before the Advisory Committee include 'Haniel/ Cementbouw/JV (CVK), Carnival Corporation/P&O Princess' and 'Promatech/Sulzer'.

The opinions of the Advisory Committee on merger cases are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, as are final Commission decisions. In its response to the Commission's recent Green Paper on the Review of the ECMR, the UK suggested a number of ways in which the transparency of the Advisory Committee's work could be further enhanced.

It is not possible to calculate the cost to public funds of the work of the committee without incurring disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Committee for the Harmonisation of National Legislation Relating to Recreational Craft is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [55361]

Ms Hewitt

It is my understanding that the hon. Member is referring to the Standing Committee set up under Article 6 of the Directive 94/25/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states relating to recreational craft. The mandate of the committee is contained in Article 6 of that directive. This committee has not met for several years and there are no meetings planned in near future. There is therefore no cost to public funds.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Advisory Committee for the implementation of the general framework for Community activities in favour of consumers is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the United Kingdom representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [57492]

Ms Hewitt

The Advisory Committee for the implementation of the general framework for Community activities in favour of consumers was established by Decision No. 283/1999/EC. It has the remit of advising the European Commission on the provision of financial support for the activities of European consumer organisations and for specific projects to promote the interests of consumers in member states.

The committee currently considers the criteria for the two annual calls for the submission of bids for financial support and advises the European Commission on the selection of successful activities and projects.

The committee has met twice over the last 12 months and is attended by one UK official. It is not possible to calculate the cost to public funds of the work of the committee without incurring disproportionate cost.

Together with member states, the Commission is currently conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of comitology committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission". As an obligation to this Decision, the Commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of committees. The first report was deposited in the Libraries of the House on 26 February, COM(2001)783 Final.

As part of the review process, the UK Government have encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every comitology committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Co-ordinating Committee on Fusion Energy EC-USA is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [58398]

Ms Hewitt

This committee, which meets once a year co-ordinates and supervises the EU-USA collaboration agreement on fusion energy research. There is one UK representative on the committee and the annual cost is low as this meeting is generally held at the same time and venue place as other fusion meetings, there are therefore no extra travel costs.

The agreement covers joint research on European and US facilities, particularly exchanges of staff and loans of equipment. Europe's Joint European Torus (JET) fusion facilities and the UK's domestic experiment, the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST), at Culham, benefit from these. The records of these meetings are available on request from my Department.