§ Mr. Andrew BowdenTo ask the Prime Minister what representations he has made to the President of the European Commission regarding the Barber judgment and the extent to which retrospection will be limited when the judgment is applied; and if he will place a copy of his letter in the Library.
§ The Prime MinisterI have written to President Delors twice on this matter; first to express my concern about the financial and economic implications of the European Court of Justice's judgment in the Barber case; and then to inform him about the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security on 26 June at columns 997–1006.
The extent of the retrospective effect of the judgment is one of the aspects on which clarification is being sought from the European Court. We shall argue before the court that the judgment does not apply to benefits based on service before the date of the judgment.
It is not my usual practice to publish correspondence of this kind.