Social Policy Protocol

HC Deb 19 November 1998 vol 319 c731W

Mr. Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the application of Protocol 14 of the Treaty of Maastricht, on Social Policy, to the United Kingdom; and what steps have been taken to ensure that the provisions of the social policy are applied in the Isle of Man. [60258]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The Government fully support the inclusion of the Agreement on Social Policy (Protocol 14) in the Amsterdam Treaty as the new Social Chapter, and will implement the measures already agreed under it.European Union rules apply to the Isle of Man only to the limited extent set out in Protocol 3 of the Treaty of Accession. Broadly speaking, this includes customs matters and certain aspects of the common agricultural policy. Protocol 14 of the Treaty of Maastricht does not fall within the scope of Protocol 3 of the Treaty of Accession.