§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will raise with the European Court of Auditors the recent EC decision to pay £4,500,000 in compensation to 150 EC personnel; and if he will make a statement on the implications for the United Kingdom contribution to the EC.
§ Mr. Maude[holding answer 25 January 1991]: The Government have noted with concern the observations in the European Court of Auditors' recent report on the 1989 EC budget in connection with redundancy payments to temporary staff at the joint research centre—JRC. The estimated cost to the United Kingdom of these payments is some £300,000 after abatement. The Government recognise that costs are frequently incurred when any organisation is restructured, but will want to ensure that measures taken to correct staff imbalances at the JRC do not result in unwarranted expenditure and that they will have the intended effect. The Government will therefore aim to pursue this issue in forthcoming Council discussions on the European Court of Auditors' report and in the review of the JRC planned for later this year.