asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the net contributing cost of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union after all rebates and funds received from the European Union for (a) the last full financial year, and (b) the past 10 financial years. [HL311]

The United Kingdom's net contribution to the EC budget in financial year 2005-06 can be found at footnote 1 to Table 7 (page 15) of the Public Expenditure 2005-06 Provisional Outturn White Paper (Cm 6883) published in July 2006. Net contributions figures for the financial years 2000-01 to 2004-05 can be found in Table 3.2 (page 17) of the annual European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770) published in May 2006. Equivalent figures for the years 1996-97 to 1999-2000 can be found in copies of this White Paper for the years 2002 to 2005.