This occasional publication contains correspondence, including ministerial replies, relating to the work of the House of Lords European Select Committee and its sub-Committees, as part of its scrutiny of policy matters. It covers the period from July 2002 to March 2003, and includes the text of letters sent and received together with any supporting material. For the first time, it gives a list of documents by Council document number where available, as well an an index of contents.
In January 2013 the Prime Minister undertook that in his party's manifesto for the 2015 general election he would seek "a mandate from the British people ... to negotiate a new settlement with our European partners." He further undertook that, once that settlement had been negotiated, there would be an "in-out" referendum in which the British people could choose "to stay in the EU on these new terms; or come out altogether". He undertook that all this would be done "in the first half of the next Parliament", that "legislation will be drafted before the next election" and that "if a Conservative Government is elected we will introduce the enabling legislation immediately and pass it by the end of that year". This bill accelerates that last part of the process: this is the "enabling legislation" of which the Prime Minister spoke. In the Committee's 2010 report on Referendums in the United Kingdom it was concluded that "if referendums are to be used, they are most appropriately used in relation to fundamental constitutional issues". Among the fundamental constitutional issues which we identified was "any proposal ... to leave the European Union". This report discusses the process the bill has gone through, the referendum question and regulation of referendums
Evidence taken before Sub-committee D (Environment, Agriculture, Public Health and Consumer Protection). In December 2003, the Committee changed its name to the European Union Committee
The Committee's report considers the future arrangements for the Speakership of the House in the light of the Government's intention to reform the office of Lord Chancellor. Issues discussed include: the self-regulation system used in the Lords and the arguments for and against having a Commons-style post of Speaker; functions within and outside the Chamber; using a system based on appointment or election; and title, salary, accommodation and other administrative support issues.
This report provides an overview of the work of the European Union Committee in session 2012-13. It highlights some of the key policies examined through scrutiny work and inquiries, reflects on the Committee's work with thie EU institutinos and other national parliaments, and gives a forward look at the work being undertaken in session 2013-14.
In March 2005, the European Commission issued a Communication designed to improve the EU regulatory environment in order to promote competition and trade and facilitate job creation. The Committee's report examines the proposals for better regulation, including the 'regulation tools' of impact assessment, simplification and consultation, the position of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the case for a new regulatory body to oversee regulation in the EU, the Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better Law-making and the role of Member States, the ambitions and activities of the UK presidency of the EU in this area. The Committee welcomes the initiatives and the attitudinal change that seems to be filtering through the Commission but highlights the need for full implementation and assessment; and also calls on the UK Government to ensure the issue is placed at the top of the EU political agenda.
While strong Armed Forces remain the bedrock in safeguarding national interests new kinds of power projection are now required, both to make the use of force ('hard power') more effective and in some instances to replace it with the deployment of what has been labelled 'soft power'. Soft power involves getting what a country wants by influencing other countries to want the same thing, through attraction, persuasion and co-option. The information and digital revolution has transformed international relations and foreign policy, meaning that the UK must win over new and wider audiences to its point of view. The UK must change the way it interacts with other nations and communities, and is well-equipped to do so. Soft power methods of exercising international influence must now be combined with older approaches in order to secure and promote the UK's interests and purposes. To ensure that the exercise of soft power takes its place at the core of government policy-making, the Committee calls for the creation of a new strategic unit at the heart of Government. Its purpose would be to assist the Prime Minister in ensuring all Departments understand the importance of soft power and of upholding the UK's reputation, and in swiftly counteracting any potentially damaging policies or messages. While investing in soft power takes time to produce results, the Committee makes a number of recommendations including that BBC World Service's budget is not reduced any further in real terms and that the British Council is properly resourced to encourage the UK's creative industries
This report is the Home Affairs Committee's response to the House's invitation of 15 July 2013, together with the Justice and European Scrutiny Committees, to submit a report by the end of October 2013 relevant to the exercise of the block opt-out of pre-Lisbon Treaty EU police and criminal justice measures, before the start of negotiations between the Government and the European Commission, Council and other EU member states on measures which the UK wishes to rejoin following exercise of the block opt-out. The Government has given notification of its intention to exercise the block opt-out. Its right to do so, and the conditions attached to the exercise of that right, are contained in Article 10 of Protocol 36 annexed to the EU Treaties. The block opt-out covers 130 EU police and criminal justice measures which had been adopted prior to 1 December 2009, the date of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The Committee has also set out: (i) That there are many problems with the European Arrest Warrant, in its existing form, in particular that it is on a system of mutual recognition of legal systems which in reality vary significantly; (ii) The Committee welcomes and supports the Government's reform package for the arrest warrant; (iii) The Committee recommends separate votes on the arrest warrant to the rest of the opt-in package at an early stage to provide a parliamentary mandate for the Government's negotiations.; (iv) The Committee concludes that if the Government proceeds with the opt-in as proposed, it will not result in any repatriation of powers. Indeed, the increased jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice may result in a net flow of powers in the opposite direction.
This report, (HLP 143-I, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780104013304) is from a new ad hoc Select Committee on Intergovernmental Organisations and reviews the effectiveness with which such organisations are tackling the global spread of infectious diseases and how the UK's membership is beneficial. The advent of globalisation and changes in human lifestyles have enabled new infections to emerge. The Committee has taken evidence from many organisations including governmental, intergovernmental, charitable and private sources and that the general landscape of international health is crowded and poorly coordinated. Despite this, the Committee believes that the process of coordinating structures has to be evolutionary and that the leadership function must rest with the World Health Organisation. Further, that the WHO's remit and resources should be developed in order to encourage and support collaboration and rationalisation amongst the various bodies. The targeting of specific diseases or groups of diseases needs to be done in coordination with improving the quality and quantity of health systems generally. This coordinated approach is specifically required in the area of infectious disease surveillance, with many developing countries seriously deficient in this respect. The Committee also believes that the focus has been on the treatment of infectious diseases as opposed to prevention, creating an imbalance in investment. There should also be more effective coordination between intergovernmental systems conducting surveillance of human and animal diseases. For Vol. 2, Evidence (see ISBN 9780104013298).
This report provides an overview of the work of the European Union Committee in session 2013-14. It highlights some of the key policies examined through scrutiny work and inquiries, reflects on the Committee's work with the EU institutions and other national parliaments, and gives a forward look at the work being undertaken in session 2014-15.
The Committees report examines parliamentary scrutiny of legislation, focusing on the process for dealing with primary legislation (i.e. the scrutiny of parliamentary bills). This examination is carried out in the light of the Rippon Commission report on the topic (Making the Law produced by the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process) which was published in 1992. Topics discussed include the mechanisms for pre-legislative and post-legislative scrutiny, the growth of legislation, the dissemination of information and ways of gauging public opinion through consultation. Conclusions drawn by the Committee include concern over the growth in the number and complexity of bills being presented to Parliament without adequate expansion in the capacity to deliver effective scrutiny. The report contains a number of proposals designed to help engender a culture shift away from this unsustainable volume of legislation, towards a culture of justification which encourages government to adopt a more disciplined approach to the introduction of bills based on the objective of effectiveness rather than quantity.
In this report the European Union Committee states that South Sudan needs the EU to invest time, finance and practical resources if it is to become a viable state following its declaration of independence on 9 July. The Committee concludes that there is a "high risk" that South Sudan will fail as a state. Its report calls on the EU to prioritise joining together with the United Nations, African Union and United States to resolve the most urgent issues threatening South Sudan's stability in order to avoid this. The Committee urges the EU to focus on four areas if the turning point of South Sudan's independence is not to be a missed opportunity for peace after decades of civil war: (1) The EU and international community must act together to calm violent inflammatory situations and to settle questions still in dispute between the North and South over debt, borders, citizenship and the distribution of oil revenues; (2) The EU must urgently establish the structures it needs to play a constructive role in South Sudan; (3) In the North the EU must find innovative ways to continue its development aid, despite the difficulties caused by the government of Sudan's lack of co-operation with the International Criminal Court; (4) The EU must not squander the respected role it has established for itself in supporting peacebuilding in Sudan - it must strengthen its measures against small arms proliferation and enforce its arms embargo.
The Doha Development Agenda placed the needs and interests of developing countries at the heart of the current round of world trade talks by seeking to redress existing imbalances in the multilateral trading system which work against their interests. The Committee's report focuses on the process and outcome of the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting, and makes policy recommendations to the UK Government and the European Commission about how to best ensure that the Doha Round can achieve a positive and ambitious outcome for the developing countries and to contribute most to poverty reduction.
In its Green Paper about the need for labour market reform, the European Commission argued that the increasing diversity of 21st century working relationships means that existing labour law is no longer adequate. This report brings together the evidence from a wide range f experts and representative bodies about these issues as they affect the UK labour market. It finds that the evidence does not support the Commission. The consensus is that the relatively light regulation of the UK labour market is advantageous and that problems of social disadvantage and structural unemployment are better addressed by measures aimed at tackling poor skills and social inequality rather than changing labour law. The report therefore recommends that efforts at EU level should focus on the promotion and sharing of good practice, rather than the introduction of new legislation.
In 2001, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament adopted the so-called First Railway Package. Comprising three Directives, this was intended to open up the rail freight market to competition and help to improve rail's share of the overall freight market. In 2006, however, the Commission published a report concluding that the implementation of the Package was inadequate and has committed itself to recasting the Package. In this report, 'Recast of the First Rail Freight Package (HL Paper 90-I)', the Committee looks at which elements of the Package need amending and which need clarification.
On 28 June 2007, the Prime Minister announced changes to the machinery of Government that had an impact upon the select committee system within the House of Commons. As a result, the Science and Technology Select Committee will be dissolved and replaced by a new Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee at the beginning of the next session of Parliament. This Report explains the role that the Science and Technology Committee has played within Parliament and the science community. It outlines the Committee's innovations, its impact and concerns regarding future science scrutiny in the House of Commons. It concludes that, in the long term, a separate Science and Technology Committee is the only way to guarantee a permanent focus on science across Government within the select committee system and recommends that the House be given an opportunity to revisit this issue.
The report Tackling Corporate Tax Avoidance In A Global Economy: Is A New Approach Needed? (HL 48) examines the problem of the avoidance of corporation tax by multinational companies. The UK faces a serious problem of avoidance of corporation tax, due in part to the complexity of the tax regime in the UK, but mainly because the international tax system gives multinational companies opportunities to shift profits between countries in ways that reduce their liabilities in the UK. This damages the economy and undermines trust in the tax system. The Committee supports the case for fundamental reform of the international corporate tax framework being pursued in the OECD, but it not clear that the reforms will be effective or whether they can be achieved within the proposed two year timescale. The present system can encourage multinational companies to take on excessive debt in the UK, including by borrowing money from an overseas subsidiary, to reduce
Research and innovation (R&I) is crucial to boost economic growth. However, in recent years, the EU's competitiveness has been increasingly threatened by R&I efforts in emerging economies. In 2010 the Commission and Member States unveiled Europe 2020 as a new strategy for growth and Horizon 2020, its flagship R&I programme. Consideration of the budget for Horizon 2020 is still underway, and the Committee urges that it be increased, or at the very least maintained at its current level. During 2012, the Committee examined a number of proposals for projects and strategies which contained a strong emphasis on R&I and identified a number of cross-cutting issues including: concerns about the effectiveness of impact assessments; a lack of information about monitoring and evaluation of projects; and the importance of stakeholder consultation and private sector participation. This report provides a more in-depth analysis of these issues and how they relate to the Commission's R&I strategy. It is agreed with the Commission that a focus on 'excellence' in R&I proposals offers the best chance of growth through R&I. To this end more work should be done to ensure consistency in this area, and realistic expectations for output of R&I projects. The bureaucracy and complexity of EU R&I programmes acts as a barrier to private sector participation, especially for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) without the resources to navigate complicated and inflexible funding processes. The long 'time-to-grant' period presents a further obstacle. The Government should highlight the opportunities to UK businesses, and continue strengthening their support structures for those businesses wishing to participate
This report considers the Commission's 2011 Communication on the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility and the UK's participation in EU asylum and immigration measures. As countries in Europe face an ageing population and a declining birth rate, legal third country immigration into the EU will be needed to keep the economy on track and retain Europe's competitiveness in a global market. While Member States should retain primary responsibility for their own migration policies, the EU also has a role to play. As the majority of irregular migrants enter the EU with authorisation and then overstay their visas, rather than crossing the EU's external border by boat or land routes illegally, the EU should adopt a more effective approach in preventing irregular migration. The EU also has a role it can play in refugee management and building capacity in the asylum systems of countries of origin and transit. Moreover, migration policy cannot and should not be the sole concern of interior ministries and a more integrated approach with development and foreign affairs ministries - at the national and EU level - would help maximise the EU's development aims. The reduction of trade barriers with non-EU countries and measures to facilitate remittances, mitigate the effects of brain drain and assist diasporas to contribute to their countries of origin would also be beneficial. The Committee also considers the position of international students in the UK: they should not be subjected to the Government's policy objective of reducing net migration.
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