§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made since 19 June 1984 on the draft European Community directive on the harmonisation of architectural qualifications; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenEC Directive 85/384/EEC on the mutual recognition of formal qualifications in architecture was adopted in June 1985. The United Kingdom was fomerly notified of this on 5 August 1985. Implementation is expected by August this year.
To achieve this, an Order in Council will be put before Parliament under the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. It will amend the Architects (Registration) Act 1931 so that the order can come into force by 5 August 1987. Officials have worked closely with the Architects Registration Council of the United Kingdom and have consulted widely in the preparation of the order.
The Government welcome the mutual recognition of qualifications. I see this particular directive as an opportunity for architects to extend their activities into other member states while safeguarding our own professional standards in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made on European Community Council draft directive (78) 449 on construction products since 4 June 1984; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenWork on the draft directive (78) 449 has not proceeded following the European Communities Council resolution of 7 May 1985 on a new approach to technical harmonisation of standards and the European Commission's White Paper "Completing the Internal Market" published in June, 1985. In its place the Commission has drafted in consultation with member states a single directive on construction products, which differs from (78) 449 in containing essential requirements, expressed only in general terms with a minimum of supporting provisions. This draft is expected to be sent by the Commission to the Council shortly.