§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his policy towards the establishment of a Community action plan to combat social exclusion at EU level. [14828]
§ Malcolm WicksA five-year EU action programme to encourage co-operation between member states to combat social exclusion is expected to be formally adopted shortly and to come into force on 1 January 2002. This programme will include provision for financial support totalling 75 million euro to support:
- analysis of characteristics, processes, causes and trends in social exclusion;
- policy co-operation and exchange of information and best practices;
- participation of the various actors and support for networking at European level.
The Government look forward to implementation of this action programme, which follows the framework set by the Lisbon European Council of March 2000.