B. CASES WHERE EFFECTIVE SCRUTINY HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE
40. REPORT FROM THE HORIZONTAL DRUGS GROUP ON IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE JOINT ACTION ON APPROXIMATION OF LAWS AND PRACTICES IN
TACKLING DRUGS (11736/97)
Letter from George Howarth MP, Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State, Home Office, to Lord Tordoff, Chairman of
the Committee
I enclose, for the information of your Committee, an Explanatory
Note on a draft report to Council from the cross-pillar Horizontal
Drugs Group, on implementation of the Joint Action on the approximation
of laws and practices in tackling drugs [not printed].
This is due to be submitted, we understand, to the JHA Council
later this week. I apologise for not getting an Explanatory Note
to you sooner, but this was unavoidable as the draft report was
only formally tabled at the Horizontal Drugs Group on 26 November.
A full English version is not yet available. As the Explanatory
Note makes clear, however, the report merely summarises Member
States' actions in implementation of the Joint Action and has
no direct policy implications for the UK.
1 December 1997
Letter from Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee,
to George Howarth MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,
Home Office
Thank you for your letter dated 1 December in relation to
the above matter.
Whilst I recognise that the report merely summarises Member
States' actions in implementation of the Joint Action on the approximation
of laws and practices in tackling drugs, it is regrettable that
this document was not made available earlier to allow the Select
Committee to consider its contents in advance of the forthcoming
Justice and Home Affairs Council. I accept, however, that the
blame lies with the Council Secretariat in this case. Nevertheless,
I would urge you to impress on the Council Secretariat the need
to ensure that documents are made available to Member States in
sufficient time to allow for their deposit in national parliaments
in advance of their consideration at Council meetings.
I note that a full English version of the document is not
yet available and I would be grateful if you would furnish this
as soon as it is to hand. In the meantime I am sending the document
to Sub-Committee F for information as it is relevant to their
current enquiry into the operation of the Third Pillar from the
Government's perspective.
3 December 1997
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