Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

Mark Hoban Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mr Mark Hoban)]

The informal Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council met on 11 and 12 July in Vilnius. I represented the United Kingdom.

On the first day, there were three simultaneous workshops covering: efficiency and effectiveness of the social investments; implementation of the European alliance for apprenticeships; and wage-setting mechanisms and economic growth. The UK attended the first workshop on social investments and stated that effective spending was about how money was spent rather than the amount and that member states can benefit hugely from sharing experiences. The UK urged caution about using relative poverty to measure the situation and referred to the consultation the Government are running to look at alternative measures of poverty. The UK found the Commission’s multi-dimensional model and focus on the root causes of poverty helpful.

On the second day, the discussion focused on the social dimension of the economic and monetary union (EMU). Setting out its vision for a social dimension of the EMU, the Commission outlined its proposals for action under the three pillars: better monitoring of social policies, better co-ordination of social policies, and better involvement of social partners. The United Kingdom highlighted that spill-over was not so relevant to member states outside of the eurozone. The UK stressed the importance of respecting subsidiarity and proportionality, and that primary competence in this area lay with member states and the Commission.