§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there are any differences between the European Social Charter 1961 and the revised charter which create potential obstacles to ratification of the revised charter by the United Kingdom; and, if so, whether they will identify the nature of the obstacles. [HL2036]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)Some of the new and extended provisions of the revised social charter are not clearly defined and appear to require open-ended commitments from governments. The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) considered the application of the revised charter by the first states that had ratified it, for the first time in 2002–03. In its conclusions on the first national reports, the ECSR stated that it will progressively determine its interpretation of the amended and new provisions and has asked the relevant countries for a range of additional information to help it do so. The UK Government hope that definitions will be clearer following forthcoming interpretations from the ECSR in 205WA 2004–06, to help to inform its decisions on which of the new or extended provisions of the revised charter it can accept with a view to ratification.