HC Deb 03 November 1999 vol 337 cc195-6W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those organisations he has consulted in deciding whether to join elements of the Schengen Agreement. [96550]

Mrs. Roche

In deciding which parts of the Schengen acquis to participate in and in preparing the United Kingdom's formal application for participation, the Home Office consulted colleagues within Government with relevant policy interests. We also consulted the Governments of Gibraltar, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, the police service and the Data Protection Registrar. In addition, we took note of the reports of the House of Lords European Communities Committee, including comments from a range of organisations and interests.

The Government's approach to Schengen follows our established policy of full engagement in justice and home affairs matters, where compatible with the maintenance of frontier controls. As such, our application raised no fresh issues on which wider consultation might have been required.