4 Education statistics
| (27103)
15615/05
COM(05) 625
| Draft Regulation on the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning
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| Legal base | Article 285(1) EC; co-decision; QMV
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| Document originated | 6 December 2005
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| Deposited in Parliament | 15 December 2005
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| Department | Education and Skills
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 27 February 2006
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
4.1 Article 149 of the Treaty establishing the European Community
(the EC Treaty) provides for the Community to contribute to the
development of education by encouraging co-operation between Member
States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing what
they do "while fully respecting the responsibility of the
Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation
of education systems". The Article says that, among other
things, Community action should aim to develop exchanges of information
on issues of common interest.
4.2 Article 285(1) of the EC Treaty authorises the
Council to adopt measures "for the production of statistics
where necessary for the performance of the activities of the Community".
4.3 Article 2 of the Treaty defines the EC's task.
It includes promoting employment, convergence of economic performance,
competitiveness and social cohesion.
4.4 Under the "Comitology procedure", the
Commission is empowered to adopt measures to implement Council
legislation, unless the measure expressly reserves implementation
to the Council itself.[12]
The document
4.5 Since the mid-1990s, Eurostat has collected and
disseminated statistics about education on the basis of "gentlemen's
agreements" with Member States. For example, Eurostat collects
statistics annually from Member States in conjunction with the
OECD and the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. It also collects
data on education from other sources, such as the European Labour
Force Survey.
4.6 The purpose of the proposed Regulation is to
provide a legal base for the work and to improve the comparability,
comprehensiveness and quality of statistics on education and lifelong
learning in the Member States. The Commission considers this necessary
so as to obtain reliable data for the formulation and monitoring
of EC policies on, for example, employment, competitiveness and
social and economic cohesion. It also argues that the statistics
are required for cooperation between Member States on educational
matters under Article 149 of the EC Treaty.
4.7 Article 1 of the proposed Regulation provides
that the purpose of the measure is to establish a common framework
for the systematic production of Community statistics on education
and lifelong learning. Provision for specific measures to implement
the Regulation is made in Articles 4, 6 and 7 (see below).
4.8 Article 2 defines some of the terms used in the
draft Regulation.
4.9 Article 3, with the Annex, provides that the
Regulation is to apply to statistics in three "domains".
4.10 Domain 1 covers annual statistics on
education and training systems, including data on costs, outputs
and participation and completion rates. The Annex says that the
data collection "shall cover all domestic educational activities
regardless of their ownership or sponsorship by the institutions
concerned (whether public or private, national or foreign)"
and would apply to all types of students and age groups.
4.11 Domain 2 covers statistics on participation
by people aged 25-64 in lifelong learning. Member States would
be required to provide the data every five years.
4.12 Domain 3 covers education and lifelong
learning statistics not covered by domains 1 and 2. The Annex
says that these other statistics could be relevant to Community
policies on research, competitiveness, growth, employment, poverty
and social inclusion.
4.13 Article 4 provides that the production of Community
statistics on education and lifelong learning should be implemented
through the following "individual statistical actions":
- the regular provision of data
for domains 1 and 2;
- the use of other information
systems and surveys for domain 3;
- the development, improvement and updating of
standards and manuals on statistical concepts, frameworks and
methods;
- the improvement of data comparability, accuracy
and timeliness; and
- the improvement of the dissemination and accessibility
of statistical information.
4.14 Article 5 provides for existing EC Regulations
on data protection to apply to personal information transmitted
to Eurostat for the purposes of producing Community statistics
on education and lifelong learning.
4.15 Article 6 makes provision for measures to implement
the "individual statistical actions" specified in Article
4. Notably, it provides that the implementing measures are to
deal with the selection of subjects to be covered by the domains.
4.16 Article 7 provides that the implementing measures
are to be considered by the Statistical Programme Committee in
accordance with the Comitology procedure.
The Government's view
4.17 The Minister of State for Lifelong Learning,
Further and Higher Education at the Department of Education and
Skills (Bill Rammell) tells us that that the draft Regulation
would legitimise the current collection and analysis of the statistics
to be covered by domains 1 and 2. But the scope of the third domain,
as currently proposed, would be "entirely open-ended".
The Minister tells us that this could lead to the imposition on
Member States of requirements to collect data which would be contrary
to the principle of subsidiarity.
4.18 He adds that the open-ended nature of domain
3, as presently drafted:
"gives cause for concern about the potential
of mandatory surveys which could result in excessive burdens on
schools and other educational institutions. All other Member States
appear to be in favour of the regulation in principle, but a number
share the UK's concerns about the vague scope of the third domain.
The UK's negotiating stance, focusing on common ground with other
Member States, is to press for additional articles in the body
of the text to clarify the obligations of Member States and their
limits; for example to set limits on resources (financial or staff)
to be used in the collection of data."
4.19 The Minister also tells us that the Government
wishes to ensure that the text of the draft Regulation makes clear
that nothing in it prejudices the responsibility of Member States
for the content of teaching and the organisation of education
systems, as provided in Article 149 of the EC Treaty. The Government
will, in particular, seek to ensure that the Regulation would
not require it to change its current policy that participation
by schools and other educational schools in international and
EC surveys should be voluntary.
Conclusion
4.20 We recognise the desirability of a Regulation
to provide legal authority for Eurostat's continuing work on statistics
about education and lifelong learning. But we share the Minister's
concerns about some aspects of the proposal.
4.21 We agree with him that the provisions on
domain 3 are drafted in such broad terms as to enable requirements
to be imposed on Member States which could be excessive. There
appears to be a similar, but smaller, risk that excessive requirements
could be imposed for domain 1 and 2 data.
4.22 In view of the Government's concerns about
the draft Regulation, we ask the Minister for his views on whether
it would be desirable if the Council, rather than the Commission
(with the assistance of the Statistical Programme Committee),
were responsible for the adoption of the implementing measures.
4.23 We also ask the Minister for progress reports
on the negotiations.
4.24 Meanwhile, we shall keep the document under
scrutiny.
12 Council Decision 1999/468/EC (OJ No. L 184, 17.7.1999,
p.23) specifies the Comitology procedure. It provides for the
Commission to be assisted by advisory, management or regulatory
committees, depending on the issue. Regulatory committees are
comprised of representatives of the Member States and chaired
by a representative of the Commission (who may not vote). If a
regulatory committee disagrees with the Commission's proposal
for an implementing measure, the Commission must submit the proposal
to the Council for decision and inform the European Parliament. Back
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