MEP quizzes Commissioner on Impact Assessments

4.11.20pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 31st Mar 2004

Release time: 31/03/2004 Embargo: Immediate

MEP quizzes Commissioner on Impact Assessments

West Midlands MEP Liz Lynne last night questioned the new Employment & Social Affairs Commissioner Stavros Dimas about his views on Comprehensive Impact Assessments. Liz was one of the lead questioners for the European Liberal Democrats at a hearing with Mr Dimas, and used her role to quiz him on the inter-institutional agreement requiring the Commission to carry out Impact Assessments before proposing legislation.

The hearing comes at a time when there is much media speculation about the impact of the 'Temporary Work at Height Directive' on adventure sports. Ahead of its implementation into UK law in July, the Health & Safety Executive are conducting a consultation on the directive and have uncovered a number of problems for instructors at outdoor pursuit centres.

After the meeting, Liz commented:

"We now have an inter-institutional agreement which requires Comprehensive Impact Assessments to be carried out ahead of new legislative proposals. This was something I pushed hard for, and I think it is slowly helping us to win the battle for sensible law-making. I was pleased to hear Mr Dimas re-iterate the Commission's support for the process, and I hope it will mean that the European Parliament receives more realistic proposals from the Commission."

"The Temporary Work at Height Directive is a good case in point. It was intended to improve the safety of workers on building sites. With a full impact assessment covering all Member States and sectors of employment, the problems which are now coming to light could have been examined at a much earlier stage. That way we could have avoided the worries now being experienced by outdoor pursuits centres."

"I hope the Commission will learn from this case and back up Mr Dimas' answers to my questions with thorough, comprehensive, Impact Assessments. That would ensure situations like this are not repeated."

ENDS