§ Mr. Stephen O'Brien:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent in each year by his Department in preparing for UK entry to the euro; how much his Department plans to spend on preparations for UK entry to the euro for each year from the current financial year up to and including 2005–06; and what estimates he has made of the total costs to his Department of changeover to the European Single Currency. [131597]
§ Ruth Kelly:Details of expenditure on changeover planning were included in the third outline National Changeover Plan, published on 9 June 2003. Copies of the document are in the Library of the House.
It is difficult to estimate with any accuracy how much any changeover would cost. It would depend on the approach taken. In particular, many IT systems will be euro compatible as a result of ongoing modernisation programmes, which would reduce the costs of any euro changeover.
§ Keith Vaz:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many speeches he has made since 1 June 2003 concerning the euro. [131748]
§ Ruth Kelly:Ministers are holding a series of meetings around the country campaigning for a pro-European consensus.