EU Justice and Home Affairs

Home Department written question – answered at on 25 October 2013.

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Photo of Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob Rees-Mogg Conservative, North East Somerset

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department

(1) what the cost to UK public funds of UK participation in Council Decision 2002/996/JHA, including the secondment of national experts to evaluation teams has been in each of the last five years;

(2) how many evaluation exercises have been undertaken pursuant to Council Decision 202/996/JHA;

(3) whether the UK could continue to participate in decision-making of the Council under Article 8(3) of Council Decision 202/996/JHA if the UK ceases to be bound by that Council Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties;

(4) whether other EU member states have implemented recommendations made to them as a result of the evaluation process established by Council Decision 2002/996/JHA;

(5) whether the Government will seek to contribute to the influencing and sharing of best practice across the EU on the matters covered by Council Decision 2002/996/JHA if the UK ceases to be bound by that Council Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; how the Government would do this; and what assessment she has made of whether this would be at least as efficacious as UK participation in the mechanism established by Council Decision 2002/996/JHA.

Photo of James Brokenshire James Brokenshire The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department

Two evaluation exercises have been undertaken pursuant to Council Decision 2002/996/JHA.

The UK has seconded national experts to one evaluation team in the last five years. The information requested on the cost to the public purse as a result of participation in Council Decision 2002/996/JHA, including the cost of the secondment of national experts, is not held centrally.

The UK could not continue to participate in the decision-making processes provided for in Decision 202/996/JHA, if the UK ceases to be bound by that Decision.

The UK will however, continue to work with member states to exchange best practice on counter terrorism strategies outside of the mechanism established by this Decision.

Information on the steps taken by other member states to implement recommendations is not gathered by the UK Government and it is not possible to evaluate the changes that have been made as a result of the possible to evaluate the changes that have been made as a result of the reviews.

The UK wishes to maintain its strong reputation in counter-terrorism and will continue to pursue the objective of strengthening counter-terrorism capability across the EU by influencing and sharing best practice outside of the framework. The UK co-operates bilaterally with other member states on Counter Terrorism and will continue to do so irrespective of participation in this measure. As the UK has opted out of this measure, it is important to note that on 1 December 2014, the UK will have the power to decide on a case-by-case basis the most efficacious method of doing so.

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