§ Mr. Roperasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the opinions he expressed in the Council of Ministers concerning the guidelines for a social action programme, submitted by the Commission of the European Communities on 18th April 1973; and if he will list the organisations he consulted on the programme prior to discussions in the Council of Ministers.
§ Mr. Maurice MacmillanAs reported on 23rd May by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster—[Vol. 857, c. 481.]—I attended a meeting of the Council of Ministers on 21st May to discuss the Commission's guidelines for a social action programme.
The principal points I made at that meeting were that Her Majesty's Government attached importance to the development of a Community social policy; to urge a flexible approach to social policy which took account of the different social structures and the different approaches towards social questions at national level within the Community; and that the programme was most likely to be effective if it gave prominence to a limited number of really worthwhile subjects for Community action.
The CBI and the TUC were consulted on the Commission's guidelines.