Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 14 June 2007

 

I write in response to your letter of 30 May about Ministers providing evidence on the future of Europe.

 

FCO Ministers take our responsibilities to Parliament seriously and make every effort to meet the Committee's reasonable requests to provide evidence. Both the Minister for Europe and I have agreed to appear before the Committee to discuss these issues. The timing of those evidence sessions have largely been determined by our Ministerial commitments and the Committee's own availability. On occasion it will not be possible to meet the Committee's requests and there will always be a need for flexibility in arriving at dates that are mutually convenient given the heavy travel and diary commitments of FCO Ministers and the Committee.

 

Besides our contacts with the FAC, we have agreed to appear in a debate on the floor of the House and in European Scrutiny Committee hearings on this issue. We have also answered oral questions in the House at FCO's regular Question Time and responded to numerous written questions.

 

I was sorry to hear that the committee felt that there had been a breakdown in communication. I fear however that the suggestion that the Government has been uncooperative is not one I can accept.

 

Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP