My honourable friend the Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society (Angela Eagle) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council was held on 8 March 2010 in Brussels. I represented the United Kingdom.

The main item on the agenda was a policy debate about the Commission Communication on EU2020 strategy. Member states agreed that EPSCO has an important role to play in defining the strategy, and welcomed the greater emphasis on youth employment, equality and green jobs. They also supported the employment rate goal but are cautious about the Commission’s proposed poverty reduction target. For the UK, I intervened to advocate the link between economic and social goals but cautioned against simplistic, overarching quantitative targets alone and stressed that targets should be meaningful and driven from the national level.

Council conclusions on the eradication of violence against women were adopted, after which the presidency opened a policy debate on the topic. Many delegations supported further EU work in this area whilst others noted that any actions should be carefully considered and analysed first. For the UK, I intervened to stress the importance of combating negative stereotypes that perpetuate the problem of violence against women. I also outlined recent action the UK had taken in this area, including the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act, the 2009 strategy to end violence against women and girls, the creation of special courts, and further investment for the national helpline for victims of domestic violence.

A delegation of Ministers for Research presented conclusions on European researchers' mobility and careers adopted by the Competitiveness Council on 2 March 2010. EPSCO Ministers expressed concern that the EU did not attract sufficient numbers of researchers and risked losing talent. The Commission will consider this issue and present concrete proposals offering pragmatic solutions.

The council reached political agreement, without debate, on a proposal for a council directive to implement a social partners’ framework agreement aimed at protecting hospital and healthcare workers at risk of injury and infection from medical ‘sharps’ (including needlesticks, scalpels and suture equipment).

The council adopted the Joint Employment Report 2009-10, and also the Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2010. There were presentations from the Commission on the latest report on equality between women and men and also information from the presidency on preparation of the tripartite social summit due to take place before the spring European Council.

Under any other business, the chairs of the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee gave an oral presentation on their 2010 work programmes, and the council noted reports from the presidency of conferences it had hosted.

At the Ministers’ lunch, there was a discussion on youth employment. The Commission expressed concern at the impact of the recession, which had had a particularly serious effect on youth employment. Member states agreed unanimously that this issue must take priority and many highlighted measures they were already taking in response to the problem. This included incentives for businesses to recruit young people, vocational training and work experience opportunities.