British Summer Time

Lord Dubs Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

My noble friend asks an important question and I can answer it, so that is very good. We know about the Private Member’s Bill that is going through at the moment and we know about the Lighter Later campaign, which suggests that there may be great benefits for a move to Central European Time. However, much of the evidence points both ways when you start looking at it. In the end, it comes down to whether you like lighter evenings in summer more than you dislike dark mornings in winter. We cannot support the Bill that is going through as it is presently formed, but we will take back any suggestions that are made today. We are constantly looking at this, because it affects the whole of the United Kingdom.

[Lord Dubs]

My Lords, I am a bit puzzled by the Minister’s first Answer. Is she saying that we could not adjust our time to that of the bulk of western Europe without permission from Brussels? Surely we could do that of our own volition.

[Baroness Wilcox]

On changing the date, the EC ninth directive on summer time harmonised for an indefinite period the dates on which summer time begins and ends across the united Union, in order to make sure that everyone is certain when the start and end dates occur and to avoid obvious risk of confusion, especially for cross-border trade and travel. As the directive is enforced across the EU, it would not be possible for the United Kingdom to change the dates.