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<p>The Balance of Competences Review is part of the coalition agreement to analyse and examine the UK's relationship with the European Union (EU). It is an analytical, transparent and evidence based process that will provide an informed and objective analysis of what EU membership means for the UK. It will look at the EU's competences, how they are used and what that means for Britain and our national interest. This extensive piece of work has never been attempted before and requires time to do justice to the complexity of the issues and interests at stake. Substantive consultation and reflection by Departments involved began in autumn 2012 and the overall review will conclude by the end of 2014.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) set out the scope and objectives of the review in his statement of 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 468.</p><p>The review is on track. The first group of reports covering an overview of the single market, health, development co-operation and humanitarian aid, foreign policy, animal health and welfare and food safety, and taxation were published on 22 July 2013. These received a good range of high quality evidence from a broad spectrum of contributors, including business, think tanks, civil society organisations and other bodies with experience</p><p>of what our EU membership means in practice. The reports analysed the EU's ability to act in specific areas, including the impact on the national interest and future challenges. By bringing together all the evidence in one place, they are designed to broaden and deepen public understanding but are not intended to pre-judge future policy making and so are not asked to make specific recommendations. It will be for political parties and others to decide what policy conclusions to draw from the evidence presented in the reports.</p><p>Calls for evidence for the next nine reports closed at the end of the summer and have attracted a similarly high level of contributions. These reports will be published this winter. Calls for evidence and reports relating to the remaining 17 competence areas will be published during the course of 2013-14. Once complete, the exercise will provide the most extensive analysis of the impact of EU membership on the UK ever undertaken—an analysis which is currently absent. It will ensure that our national debate is grounded in knowledge of the facts and will provide a vital aid for policy making. Published reports and calls for evidence can be found at:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/review-of-the-balance-of-competences</p> |