European Committee, 26 Mar 2002

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Official Report 252KB pdf

---

Convener's Report

I have a few items to discuss with the committee today. We will discuss the Brussels visit later, but I put on record our thanks to the clerking team of Stephen Imrie, David Simpson and Nick Hawthorne for all the work that they put into making it such a successful visit, and our thanks to Liz Holt of the European Commission and Dermot Scott of the European Parliament for all the hard work that they put into arranging meetings for us.

We have received a follow-up letter from Wendy Alexander on the euro. I suggest that the committee note the contents of the letter and thank the Executive for clarification of the denomination in which, and the means by which, payments of EC funds are received in Scotland—members will remember that we queried that. Furthermore, I suggest that we welcome the fact that MSPs can be involved in the Scottish economic and monetary union co-ordination group. The responses have been positive developments resulting from the letter that the committee sent to the minister. However, members may wish to express regret that the recommendations on information campaigns for young people and vulnerable sectors have not been agreed to. I notice that the minister says that the recommendations were inappropriate "at this time", so there may be a glimmer of light on the horizon.

Towards the end of her letter, Wendy Alexander refers to the Scottish EMU co-ordination group and says:

"If it were decided at that point"—

that point being June of this year—

"that the group should continue, consideration would be given to inviting representatives from the Parliament to join the group."

We should put down a marker to say that representatives of the Parliament ought to be selected in an open and democratic way. All too often, delegations from the Parliament are decided behind closed doors by the mystical Parliamentary Bureau, which behaves like a secret society. The European Committee should use its influence to ensure that that is not the case.

Are you volunteering to be the committee's representative on the Scottish economic and monetary union co-ordination group? I would be happy to endorse that.

No. I was talking about the principle.

Dennis could be the mystic on a mystical body.

The second page of the letter from Wendy Alexander mentions the school curriculum. If I remember our discussion correctly, I think we asked whether alteration to the curriculum because of the single currency will have a financial impact. I appreciate that Wendy Alexander is the minister with responsibility for enterprise, which has so little to do with money, and the minister with responsibility for lifelong learning, which has a little to do with education, but it might have been more appropriate if she had answered our questions rather than directing us to the education department.

I am not happy with the minister's answer. The matter has financial implications for local authorities, which was the nub of our question to her. We should take on board the suggestion of asking the education department whether there are any financial implications in the changes to the curriculum because of the single currency. We should also write back to Wendy Alexander to ask whether, in her opinion as minister with responsibility for lifelong learning, the single currency has financial implications for the higher and further education sectors with regard to alterations of material. The minister's reply does not appreciate the point that we made.

The committee has discussed the school curriculum in the past. I am interested in the changes that have been made to incorporate the euro into the curriculum. A couple of weeks ago, a secondary school in my constituency did a project on the euro. Kids were encouraged to buy things at the tuck shop in euros. Advances are being made. It might be helpful to write to the Minister for Education and Young People to ask what is happening in the school curriculum and what the programme of implementation is for any changes to it.

The issue is potentially broader. In Portugal, as part of the education programme for the single currency—although not as part of the European Union's programme—McDonald's offered money to provide materials for schools that told children how much a Big Mac would cost in euros. I wonder what other members think about that. We know that our schools lack materials, but I would be concerned if there were a back door for McDonald's or any other organisation to provide school books that refer to their products. That already happens in England. I am concerned that it might become part of our kids' education to be told about the euro in Ronald McDonald's terms.

In the next two years there will be many discussions on the impact of the euro on the curriculum. We could start by writing to the Minister for Education and Young People to ask about the plans and the programme of implementation for changes in the curriculum.

The serious issue is the financial implications of those changes. The nub of the question is whether there are financial implications and whether we can access cash from Brussels for the education programme.

I remember that we asked about the PRINCE programme, which was an information campaign, but I am not sure whether we received an answer. Perhaps we should follow that up. The Commission had money available for member states to undertake information campaigns on the euro. Perhaps we could access that too. I do not think that that money was for curriculum changes. I understand that it was for local authorities to use in libraries, for example, to provide information to the public. We can follow up that point on the PRINCE programme.

We move on to the letter from Peter Peacock about delays. Members will recall that we asked about delays in payments from European social fund programmes, which have affected the voluntary sector. I suggest that we note the letter and welcome the steps that the minister is taking to improve payments to the voluntary sector.

I welcome the minister's suggestion that he will deal sympathetically with serious problems and encourage the Executive to keep the situation under constant review. As a member of the Scottish European structural fund forum, the committee has a role in keeping that situation under review. Either John Home Robertson or I will attend the next meeting of that group, at the end of April, when we will continue to raise that problem. I ask members who want us to raise cases on their behalf to tell us about them before the forum's next meeting. Is the recommendation agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

I give notice that John Home Robertson or I intend to attend the next meeting of the European Chairs-United Kingdom group, which comprises the chairs of the committees that deal with European matters in the devolved assemblies, of the House of Lords European Union Committee and of the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee.

I would welcome hearing about any issues that members want us to raise at that meeting. Governance will be on the agenda. Helen Eadie has mentioned opportunities for further networking with members of those committees, which we can certainly raise. I do not ask members to bring up issues now. There is time before the meeting for members to advise the clerk or me of any issues that they would like us to raise. After the EC-UK group meeting, I will be happy to circulate a note on the matters that were discussed and any agreements that were reached. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

The next issue is implementation of the ozone regulation and its implications in terms of the increasing fridge mountains throughout Scotland. I suggest that we note the answer to the parliamentary question that Sarah Boyack lodged. Members will recall that we, too, have written to the Executive about the matter, but we have not received a reply. Do we agree to ask the Executive to provide the committee with a copy of answers to relevant parliamentary questions in the future and to continue to engage with the committee on the issue, which is important?

Members indicated agreement.