§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the budgetary cost per head of maintaining a Member of the European Assembly; how this compares with the cost of maintaining a Member of the House of Commons; and if he will provide a breakdown to enable the difference to be accounted for.
§ Mr. LawsonNo precise comparison is possible between the budgetary costs of the European Parliament and those of the House of Commons. The following table shows the main categories of expenditure covered by the budget of the European Parliament and the Votes for House of Commons expenditure.
£ million European Parliament* House of Commons † Members of the Institution Salaries and pensions ‡— 9.1 Travel and subsistence 7.8 4.6 Secretarial expenses 8.9 2.9 Other 0.7 — Supporting Staff Salaries, allowances, pensions, etc. ║62.7 ║7.4 General expenses 4.1 2.0 Accommodation Rent 4.3 §— Operating costs 3.3 3.8 Security 0.6 1.8 Other Administrative Costs Stationery, office equipment, etc. 6.1 3.3 Publications 3.6 3.8 Payments to Parliamentary bodies 3.8 0.6 Other Expenditure ¶13.0 — Total 118.9 39.3 Number of Members 410 635 * The figures for the European Parliament have been taken from the 1980 Community Budget and converted to sterling at the Budget rate of £1=1.49 EUA. † The figures for the House of Commons have been taken from the 1980–81 Estimates. ‡ Salaries of Members of the European Parliament are paid by national Governments and are not included in the Budget. § Rent is not payable in respect of the ║ The Budget of the European Parliament covers the cost of 2573 posts of which approximately one-fifth are employed in the language service. The House of Commons administration vote covers the costs of 772 staff. ¶ Includes £10.4 million to reserves.