§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) if he will list the occasions since 1 May 1997 when his Department has made available to the European Scrutiny Committee unofficial texts of draft European legislation; [80541]
(2) on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 his Department has made available to the European Scrutiny Committee council working documents. [80548]
§ Mr. KilfoyleMy Department receives a large volume of both official and unofficial/working texts during the course of European Union negotiations on EU legislation and other matters. In order to facilitate the work of the European Scrutiny Committee and to keep it informed of the progress of negotiations, my Department submits Explanatory Memoranda (EMs) to the Committee. Since 1 May 1997, my Department has submitted 9 EMs to the European Scrutiny Committee. On one occasion, a Council working document covering draft joint guidelines on the quality of the drafting of Community legislation was attached to an EM submitted on 10 July 1998.