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Eurodac
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on whether the implementing powers under the Eurodac Regulation should be exercised by (a) the Commission or (b) the Council. [125049]
Mrs. Roche: The European Parliament is to be reconsulted on the Council's proposal to reserve these implementing powers to itself, rather than delegate them to the Commission. A copy of an Explanatory Memorandum has been sent to the Scrutiny Committees setting out the Government's position on the draft regulation. A copy will be available in the Library.
Equal Treatment Directive
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the proposed EU Directive against racial discrimination with existing British race relations legislation as it affects the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [125080]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: (The Directive is a European Community Directive, not a European Union Directive.)
No assessment of the Directive's compatibility as it affects the Immigration and Nationality Directorate is necessary. Immigration functions are not covered by the fields listed under the scope of the Directive in article 3(1). Furthermore, the United Kingdom secured the addition of paragraph 3(2), which states:
- This Directive does not cover difference of treatment based on nationality and is without prejudice to provisions and conditions relating to the entry into and residence of third-country nationals and stateless persons on the territory of member states, and to any treatment which arises for the legal status of the third-country national and stateless persons concerned.
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations he has consulted on the impact of the draft EU Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. [125042]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: (The Directive is a European Community Directive, not a European Union Directive.)
The Home Office has consulted: all relevant Whitehall Departments, and the devolved administrations; a range of business organisations and employee organisations, including the Confederation of British Industry, the Construction Federation, the Small Business Centre, the Institute of Personnel Development, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Engineering Employers Federation and the Trade Union Congress; and some 80 non-governmental organisations working in the race relations field, including the Commission for Racial Equality and the European Monitoring Centre.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) British businesses and (b) other organisations of implementing the proposed EU Directive on the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. [125054]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: (The Directive is a European Community Directive, not a European Union Directive.)
Since a final version of the text was only agreed yesterday, it has not been possible to carry out a full assessment of the cost to British businesses and other organisations of implementing the European Community Directive on the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. A copy of the Regulatory Impact Assessment has been placed in the Library. It has been prepared on the basis of an earlier draft of the Directive, which addressed the potential costs of the proposed Directive, the contents of which have been shared with representatives of the business community.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to bring forward further amendments to the Race Relations (Amendment) Bill [Lords] in respect of the EU Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or national origin. [125041]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have no such plans. The main purpose of the Race Relations (Amendment) Bill is to extend further the Race Relations Act 1976 to the police and other public authorities, meeting a key recommendation of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report. It would not be within the scope of the Bill to seek to implement the measures contained in the European Union Race Directive, which would have implications for the private sector as well as the public sector. In addition, the timing of the Directive does not fit in with that of the Bill. We are hopeful that the Race Relations (Amendment) Bill will receive Royal Assent by the summer. By contrast, although political agreement on the Directive was reached at the European Union Social Affairs Council at its June meeting, the Directive will now be subject to legal scrutiny and will not be adopted before the Council's October meeting, from which time the United Kingdom
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will have three years to implement it. In these circumstances, it would be unwise to attempt to make unnecessarily speedy amendments to legislation which is already passing through Parliament.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which aspects of education will be covered by the draft European Union Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin; what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the draft Directive with the provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976 relating to duties imposed on educational bodies; and if he will make a statement. [125031]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: (The Directive is a European Community Directive not a European Union Directive.)
Our Race Relations Act has, since 1976, fully covered the education sector in the United Kingdom and the Directive has limited coverage in respect of education. The areas where the Directive will primarily come into play are those which deal with such schemes as exchange of best practice and encouraging co-operation between educational bodies in different member states and student and teacher mobility schemes such as exchanges.
Justice and Home Affairs Council
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the proceedings and conclusions of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 29 and 30 May. [125040]
Mr. Straw: I am writing to the Chairman of the Select Committee on European Scrutiny, in accordance with established practice, to report on the outcome of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 29 May. I will arrange for a copy of that letter to be placed in the Library.
Dublin Convention
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the Commission Working Paper, "Revisiting the Dublin Convention". [125048]
Mrs. Roche: The European Commission has produced a working paper entitled "Revisiting the Dublin Convention". This seeks to initiate debate on the Dublin Convention as the first step towards developing Community legislation for determining which member state is responsible for considering an application for asylum submitted in one of the member states, as required by the Treaty of Amsterdam. The Government's view of this document can be found in the Home Office Explanatory Memorandum dated 10 May, a copy of which is in the Library.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of the quarterly statistics on the Dublin Convention exchanged between member states under the terms of decision 1/97. [125047]
Mrs. Roche: I have arranged for copies of these latest statistics to be placed in the Library.
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is the Government's policy to seek to replace the Dublin Convention with a system which allocates responsibility for an asylum applicant to the last known transit country within the EU. [125045]
Mrs. Roche: The Treaty of Amsterdam requires that a Community instrument must replace the Dublin Convention by May 2004. The Commission has already presented a working document entitled "Revisiting the Dublin Convention" to the Justice and Home Affairs Council Meeting held in Brussels on 27 March.
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The next step in the process will be the circulation of a Commission questionnaire to evaluate the operation of the Dublin Convention as it stands. The Government see evaluation as central to the development of a new draft measure. We must build on the results of the forthcoming evaluation to ensure the development of a more robust and efficient new mechanism in this field. At this preliminary stage, however, the Government consider that the underlying premise of the Dublin Convention (that the State responsible for an applicant's entry into European Union territory is responsible for the determination of any resulting asylum claim) provides a proper model for any future measure.
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