§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list all proposed EC/EU measures of the past 10 years regarding working conditions which Her Majesty's Government(a) opposed and (b) supported.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 3 February 1994]: Since 1983, the Council of Ministers, including the UK, has agreed to over 50 measures relating to working conditions—covering measures in the field of employment law, social security arrangements and health and safety at work. The UK plays a full and constructive part in all negotiations on social affairs matters, adopting an approach on particular proposals or on individual parts of them, based on the Government's view of their merits, the need to achieve a sensible balance between social protection, competitiveness and employment growth, and the question of whether action is best taken by the Community or by member states. The UK has not voted against a single legislative proposal in the current EC social action programme and has one of the best implementation records of any member state. Details of measures adopted by the Council are contained in the "Directory of Community Legislation in Force", published by the, Official Journal of the European Communities, the 22nd edition of which is available in the Library.