§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Lord Privy Seal what information he has as to the average length of a parliamentary Session in each of the EEC states; and what is the annual salary of the respective Members of Parliament expressed in terms of an amount for each week in the Session.
§ Mr. BiffenThe table gives the average length of Session over the last five years for a number of European Parliaments. The figures have been compiled by the IPU. In comparing the figures it is important to note that different countries have different systems of Government which place varying emphasis on the role of their Parliament. Furthermore, the activity of a Parliament is not necessarily reflected by the number of days on which it meets, as it may conduct its activities through Committees. It is also important to note that these figures do not give any reflection of the length of the daily sittings.
Average length Austria Federal Council 13 National Council 40 Belgium Senate 62 Chamber of Representatives 70 Cyprus 40 Czechoslovakia 123 Denmark 106 France Senate 121 National Assembly 149 Hungary 12 Netherlands 1st Chamber 40 2nd Chamber 100 United Kingdom Lords 147 Commons 170 The latest available figures on parliamentary salaries which have been compiled on a comparable basis are given in the 20th report of the Review Body on Top Salaries (May 1983). I refer the hon. Gentleman to table 3 in section 5A of volume 2 of that report.