§ Mr. Wattsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will place in the Library a copy of the report for the hearing of case 416/85 before the European Court of Justice brought by the Commission of the European Communities against the United Kingdom concerning the zero-rating of certain goods and services.
§ Mr. BrookeA copy of the report for the hearing of case 416/85 before the European Court of Justice on 15 September 1987 has today been placed in the Library of the House. This is a document prepared by the court on the basis of the submissions put to it and summarises the main issues. It cannot be expected to reflect the full force 233W of the Government's arguments, which will be vigorously pursued by counsel at the hearing itself. It is not the practice to disclose written pleadings before the ECJ without the agreement of the other party to the case, in this case the Commission. We have approached the Commission to see whether, in the particular circumstances, it would be prepared to agree to publication. But a summary of the Government's position and the general rules on confidentiality of pleadings are set out in appendices 2 and 3 respectively of the fourth report from the Treasury and Civil Service Committee (Session 1986–87) "The defence of VAT zero-rating".