HC Deb 26 November 1996 vol 286 c148W
Mrs. Beckett

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library the evidence in the working time directive case which the European Court examined. [4719]

Mr. Lang

It would be contrary to established practice to publish the pleadings in the case. Two pieces of scientific evidence were submitted by the UK. One was a table of fatal accident rates by industry, reproduced from OECD "Employment Outlook 1989", chapter 4, Occupational accidents in OECD countries, table 4.1 on page 143. The second was the report on health and safety aspects of working hours by Professor Harrington, which has already been placed in the Library of the House.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the total cost incurred by the Government in contesting the working time directive in(a) legal fees, (b) civil service time and (c) payments made to outside organisations or agencies. [4720]

Mr. Lang

Disbursements incurred in bringing legal proceedings relating to the working time directive in the European Court of Justice were in the region of £50,000. No records were kept of the time spent on the case by civil servants. Payments to outside organisations totalled around £11,000.