Dick Spring
Question:39 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Labour the measures which the Government plan to take to implement the terms of the European Social Charter.
Written Answers. - European Social Charter.
The Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights will be implemented through a Commission action programme. This will involve the Commission bringing forward a wide range of proposals submitted under its power of initiative under the Treaty. A number of those proposals have already been submitted for consideration by the Council of Social Affairs Ministers and are currently being examined.
The target date which I set, during my term of office as President of the Social Affairs Council, for dealing with all Commission proposals under the action programme was the end of 1992. I very much hope that that target will be achieved.
The Government will in due course take all appropriate measures, including legislation where that is necessary, to implement any decisions taken pursuant to the Commission action programme, within the time scales for action stipulated in the individual decisions. These measures will, of course, be in addition to the many social actions envisaged in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. Taken together, all these measures represent an unprecedented scale of commitment by any Government to substantial progress in the entire social area.