HL Deb 14 October 1997 vol 582 cc135-6WA
Viscount Tenby

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the costs of maintaining the European Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, including:

  1. (a) salaries, pensions, travelling allowances, secretarial expenses and other expenses for Members;
  2. (b) salaries, allowances and pensions, etc. of support staff;
  3. (c) accommodation, including rent, operating costs and security; and
  4. (d) all other administrative costs such as stationery, office equipment, publications, payments to parliamentary bodies and any other relevant outgoings,
and whether they will indicate the per capita cost per Member as well as the average number of sitting days for each institution over the past five years.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

As Lord Henley made clear in his answer on 19 January 1995Official Report, (WA 60–62) providing this information for 1990–91 to 1994–95, precise comparisons between the costs of the European Parliament and the Houses of Parliament are difficult. However the updated information is as follows:

£ million
Total costs 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
House of Lords 37.4 39.8 38.5
House of Commons 167.6 195.6 202.3
European Parliament1 473.4 564.9 575.0
of which cost to UK is 53.9 73.8 65.4
£000
Per capita cost per member 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
House of Lords2 36 38 37
House of Commons 257 300 311
European Parliament3 835 902 918
Number of sitting days 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
House of Lords 142 146 145
House of Commons 158 156 152
European Parliament4 60 60 60
1 Based on average £/ecu exchange rate for the relevant year.
2 Per capita costs based on number of peers eligible to sit in the House of Lords at the beginning of each year.
3 The number of European Parliament seats increased from 518 to 567 on 9 June 1994 and has increased since to its present total of 626.
4 It is not possible to give an exact figure for the number of European Parliament sittings. The European Parliament generally holds a five-day plenary session every month but there have been occasions when those plenary sessions have been held over of mini-plenary sessions in Brussels, 70 days of committee meetings and 57 days of group meetings, giving an additional 141 days.