§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the (a) composition and (b) mission of the article 13 action programme; when it will meet; and what parliamentary scrutiny there will be of its activities. [39646]
§ Ms HewittI have been asked to reply.
The Article 13 action programme is an activity of the European Community. It was agreed under Article 13 of the European Community Treaty on 27 November 2000, and will run until 2006.
381WThe Programme supports the development of practical solutions to combat discrimination on grounds of racial and ethnic origin, disability, age, religion and belief and sexual orientation. The programme encourages the exchange of best practice on policies and practices which have been shown to work well in combating discrimination across Europe.
The day to day running of the programme is the responsibility of the European Commission under the direction of a Management Committee comprising of representatives of all member states including the United Kingdom. The Committee meets three or four times a year to provide the necessary guidance to the Commission. An evaluation of the programme will be reported to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. A copy of the evaluation report will be placed in the Libraries of the House once available.