Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the value for public money of the European Commission Work Programme 2014.

The Government submitted an Explanatory Memorandum on the Commission Work Programme 2014 to Parliament on 15 November 2013. This outlined the most significant initiatives in the Work Programme and the Government's initial views on them.

The financial implications of initiatives outlined in the Work Programme will be contained in the Explanatory Memoranda of individual proposals, which will be deposited for scrutiny in the usual way.

The annual Commission Work Programme provides a useful, early opportunity for Parliament to scrutinise and debate upcoming EU legislative and non-legislative proposals.