HL Deb 26 June 1996 vol 573 c57WA
Baroness Williams of Crosby

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they are taking to ensure that the Select Committee and Sub-Committees on the European Communities receive Commission documents, and the related government explanatory memoranda, in sufficient time to acquaint the House of the results of their scrutiny before final decisions are made.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

The Government have a rigorous system in place and make every effort to ensure that documents are available in sufficient time for proper scrutiny to take place. In addition, the Government are proposing at the Intergovernmental Conference 1996 a minimum scrutiny period for documents to be available to national parliaments before they are considered in the Council. They are also supporting a Council Secretariat project to send documents electronically to member states, which would give national parliaments more time to scrutinise these.