§ Lord Rankeillourasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that public understanding of European Union institutions and policies is sufficient to sustain popular assent to the increasing regulation of everyday British life by European law; and, if not, what steps they propose to take to improve it in advance of the Inter-Governmental Conference in 1996.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyWhere European legislation intrudes unnecessarily into everyday British life, this can provoke popular resentment. That is why the Government have worked to establish the principle of subsidiarity, that action should only be taken at the European level where there is a real need for it. That policy is now delivering impressive results—with 185 new legislative initiatives in 1990, for example, and only 51 in 1994.
Public understanding of the European Union and its policies is a good thing in its own right, and the Government are keen to promote such understanding. We have published a number of booklets to this end; we produce and support the production of resources and curriculum support material to assist schools in dealing with Europe, and are working with the National Network of Relays to ensure the effective provision of appropriate information on European issues to the public. This work takes on ever greater importance as the Inter-Governmental Conference takes shape.