§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if secondary employment by senior European Commission staff is required to be registered with the Commission; how many of those in senior grades have secondary employment; and if in all cases such employment is in fields unconnected with the Directorate-General in which they work. [91908]
§ Ms QuinI shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place copies of the letter in the Libraries of the House.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 21 June 1999,Official Report, column 276, on European Commission staff, if he will request the Secretary General of the European Commission (a) to supply a breakdown of total numbers of employees (i) of each Directorate General and (ii) other parts of the Commission who have been given permission to take secondary employment, 373W (b) to supply a copy of the codes adopted by the Commission to determine whether such permission should be given and (c) to indicate at what administrative level such decisions have been made. [92033]
§ Ms QuinFor reasons of personal confidentiality, the Commission does not publish information about the secondary employment of officials below the level of Commissioner. Decisions on secondary employment are normally made by Director-Generals (or, if a Director-General is seeking permission, by the appropriate Commissioner) on the basis of the staff regulations mentioned in my answer on 21 June 1999,Official Report, column 276. These state that permission to take secondary employment should be refused if the nature of the work would impair the official's independence or be detrimental to the work of the Communities.