§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many of the secretariats of the 81 technical committees concerned with standards in the European Economic Community Britain holds; and how many it sought;
(2) what representations he has received concerning British participation in the technical committees concerned with standards in the European Community.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkHarmonised European standards for non-electrical products are produced by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). According to the latest information, CEN how has 90 technical committees, of which the United Kingdom holds 11 secretariats.
Since June 1987 the United Kingdom has sought the secretariat of four technical committees and obtained three. My Department has received only a small number of representations from industry representatives about United Kingdom participation in the CEN technical committees.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson), Official Report, 31 March 1988, column 590.