HL Deb 15 February 1983 vol 439 cc213-5WA
Lord O'Hagan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many civil servants qualified in the law of the European Communities have been recruited in each of the last five years.

Baroness Young

There is no central record of the experience in the law of the European Communities of lawyers entering the Civil Service. It would not be possible to give a precise answer without incurring disproportionate cost, since it would be necessary to ask all the employing departments concerned to examine the personnel records of each individual concerned. However, the Government Legal Service expects recruits to all departments which are involved in EEC affairs to have or to acquire knowledge of EEC law. It is noticeable from applications in recent years that candidates have increasingly studied the subject on post-graduate courses, and a number of them have spent a year or two in continental Europe increasing that knowledge.

Lord O'Hagan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they are satisfied that secondment to the institutions of the EEC is no longer considered an obstacle to promotion within the British Civil Service.

Baroness Young

Service in the European Community is not, and never has been, an obstacle to promotion within the British Civil Service. On the contrary, Government departments are well aware, and are periodically reminded, of the value of a period of service with the Community to members of their staff; such experience is counted as an advantage to the person concerned.

Lord O'Hagan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they have taken recently to improve the courses concerning the EEC at the Civil Service College.

Baroness Young

The Civil Service College maintains close links with the training institutions of other EC member states and offers a number of courses specifically concerned with the European Community. These include introductory courses, courses on economic and political developments, and on negotiating techniques. There are also a number of reciprocal training programmes arranged with France, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands. Courses are kept under constant review, and two major reviews in consultation with departments were undertaken in 1981–2, after which appropriate adjustments were made. The courses are well subscribed at present. In addition, many of the college's general developmental courses include a section on EC matters.

Lord O'Hagan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many civil servants who speak the languages of the EEC have been recruited in the last five years.

Baroness Young

Of 276 civil servants recruited by the Civil Service Commission during the last five years to fill posts in which the duties are mainly linguistic, 126 were appointed specifically for their competence in the official languages (other than English) of the EEC. Many of the others will also be qualified in these languages.

No central record is maintained to show how many civil servants recruited to fill non-linguistic posts speak EEC languages. However, many recruits to both generalist and specialist posts possess academic qualifications in the languages ranging from GCE 'O' level to honours degree level. For example, about 15 per cent. of staff recruited through the Appointments in Administration scheme during the last five years (including administration trainees in the Home Civil Service and equivalent entrants to the Diplomatic Service) possess an honours degree in one or more EEC languages.

Lord O'Hagan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many civil servants with experience in the institutions of the EEC are now serving in:

  1. (a) each department;
  2. (b) The Central Policy Review Staff;
  3. (c) The Prime Minister's Policy Unit.

Baroness Young

The following are such details as I am able to supply:

  1. (a) Staff in all grades and all disciplines are eligible to serve in European Community 215 institutions. Records of such experience are held on individual personnel files within departments. These statistics are not held centrally and to obtain them would involve disproportionate cost.
  2. (b) One of the civil servants currently serving in the Central Policy Review Staff has previously served in the Office of the Permanent Representative to the European Communities (UKREP).
  3. (c) None of the civil servants at present serving in the Prime Minister's Policy Unit have served in the Community Institutions.

In addition to the details at (a), (b) and (c) above, civil servants in all three of these categories have been in close touch with the EEC institutions either during or prior to their present posts.