§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the governments of(a) Gibraltar, (b) Jersey, (c) Guernsey and (d) the Isle of Man regarding the Single European Currency. [94200]
§ Ruth KellyGovernment officials meet often with representatives of Gibraltar, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man to discuss a range of issues.
§ Mr. PriskTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what target he has for the proportion of businesses which will be prepared for euro entry at the time of his Department's assessment on whether Britain meets the five economic tests for euro entry. [94344]
§ Ruth KellyThe Government are committed to completing an assessment of the five tests within two years of the start of this Parliament. While the Treasury has not set any targets for the proportion of businesses to make preparations it has published two outline National Changeover Plans and regular euro preparation updates containing practical information. Copies of these publications are available in the Library of the House. It is up to individual businesses to decide whether to make preparations for possible UK entry.
§ Mr. PriskTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department next intends to conduct a survey of the proportion of businesses prepared for membership of the euro.[94345]
986W
§ Ruth KellyI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor) on 13 January 2003, Official Report, columns 414W-15W, and 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 54W.