Programme-budget for the operation of the Assembly in 1977

Opinion 75 (1976)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 3 May 1976 (1st Sitting) (see Doc. 3764, report of the Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme). Text adopted by the Assembly on 3 May 1976 (1st Sitting).

Thesaurus

The Assembly,

1. Having regard to paragraph 1 of Resolution (53) 38 of the Committee of Ministers, which stipulates :

"When drawing up the draft budget of the Council of Europe, the Secretary General shall consult the Assembly on that part of the draft budget which comprises the relevant operational appropriations ; such consultation shall take place in accordance with a procedure to be laid down by agreement between the President of the Assembly and the Secretary General" ;

2. Having regard to the Secretary General's letter of 15 March 1962, laying down the procedure for consultation both on that part of the budget which contains the estimates relating to the Assembly's operational expenditure and on the budget as a whole ;

3. Having regard to the procedure concerning the budgetary powers of the Assembly, as agreed between the President of the Assembly and the Secretary General and approved by the Bureau of the Assembly on 25 January 1973 ;

4. Being aware of the financial effort made by the governments of the member states in voting the Council of Europe budget for 1976,

5. Decides, in view of the general economic situation at present, not to request any increase in real terms in its appropriations for 1977, allowance being made for the adjustments required to compensate for inflation, and even to accept a slight reduction in the total funds ;

6. Emphasises, however, the importance it attaches to the request it is reiterating in this opinion, concerning the administrative structure of the Office of the Clerk, which has no real effect on the budget ;

7. Adopts, therefore, the following opinion on its operational expenditure (Vote III of the Council of Europe budget).

Appendix

A. Summary table of requested increases in real terms for 1977, compared with initial appropriations for 1976

VOTE III - Expenditure pertaining to the Assembly	Initial appropriations for 1976 [(1) Appropriation adjustment will be necessary after the adjustment to be made to staff salary scales in 1976. The amount of these adjustments cannot yet be determined. In principle these are covered by the provisions of Sub-head 88.]	Proposed increases or reductions in real terms for 1977
HEAD XX - Staff	F	F
Sub-heads
Clerk of the Assembly
82 - Salary, allowances and social charges	312 000
Staff in the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly
83 - Remuneration - permanent staff	4 882 000
83 bis - Assembly staffing changes		+ 9000
84 - Expenses on arrival and departure - home leave	58 000
85 - Overtime and allowances for exceptional duties	32 000
86 - Staff recruited to fill vacant permanent posts on a temporary basis	p.m.
87 - Remuneration and accessory charges for temporary conference staff	3 385 000	+ 30 000
88 - Provision for cost-of-living allowance and other adjustments to remuneration	600 000
TOTAL HEAD XX	9 269 000	39 000
VOTE III - Expenditure pertaining to the Assembly	Initial appropriations for 1976 [(2) Appropriation adjustment will be necessary after the adjustment to be made to staff salary scales in 1976. The amount of these adjustments cannot yet be determined. In principle these are covered by the provisions of Sub-head 88.]	Proposed increases or reductions in real terms for 1977
HEAD XXI - Supplies and services	F	F
Sub-heads
89 - Publishing and printing	538 000
90 - Hire of cars	14 000
TOTAL HEAD XXI
HEAD XXII - Other operational expenditure
91 - Representational, travelling and subsistence expenses of the President of the Assembly	96 500
92 - Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the Assembly	260 000
94 - Official journeys	280 500
95 - Consultation of experts	370 000
96 - Organisation of ad hoc conferences	260 000	- 80 000
97 - Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote	33 000
98 - Exceptional expenditure	p.m.
99 - Europe Prize	24 000
TOTAL HEAD XXII	1 385 000	- 80 000
TOTAL VOTE III	11 206 000	- 41 000

B. Detailed explanations of the increases in real terms requested

Introduction

1. As already explained in Opinion No. 70 (1975), the changes requested in the present opinion are to be regarded as increases in real terms over the appropriations made to the Assembly for 1976, allowance being made for any additional appropriations granted before the end of the year.

2. As it did last year, the Assembly leaves it to the Secretariat administration to assess in due course, in the same way as for other sectors of the draft budget submitted by the Secretariat :

the adjustments in appropriations still required in 1976 as a result of pay scale changes, and their consequences for 1977 ;

the provision to be made for pay adjustments in 1976.

3. For these reasons the final estimates for the head concerning staff expenditure are not entered in the present opinion.

4. Similarly, it will be for the Secretariat to evaluate the effect of inflation on the other 1977 estimates and adjust them accordingly.

5. The estimates under Heads XXI (supplies and services) and XXII (other operational expenditure) in this opinion, which constitute the budgetary package, will therefore have to be adjusted before the budget is adopted.

6. The Assembly's estimates for 1977 will thus be determined by the total 1976 Assembly appropriations (including additional appropriations granted in the course of the year), to which will be added :

the increases in real terms requested in this opinion ;

the technical adjustments to be made by the Secretary General as indicated in paragraph 2 above.

7. It may be recalled, finally, that the appropriations under Vote III referred to in this opinion relate directly to the operation of the Assembly and do not cover installations, supplies and equipment.

Break-down of estimates according to budget classification

HEAD XX - Staff

Sub-head 82 - Remuneration, allowances and social charges in respect of the Clerk of the Assembly

This estimate covers salary, periodical allowances and social charges in respect of the Clerk of the Assembly as provided for in Resolution (71) 8 of the Committee of Ministers of 26 March 1971, last amended by Resolution (72) 48 of 24 November 1972.

Sub-head 83 - Remuneration of permanent staff

The estimate is for the remuneration of permanent staff in the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly (basic salaries, periodical allowances, social insurance and pension fund contributions).

The present numerical breakdown of staff is as follows :

Posts	Secretariat of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk	Table Office	Div. I	Div. II	Div. III	Total
A7 [(3) The official performing the duties of Deputy Clerk was appointed A6 personal basis in 1973.]	1					1
A5		1	1	1	1	4
A4	1		2	2	2	7
A2/A3			5	3	3	11
B5	1	1				2
B4	1	1				2
B3	2	1	5	4	3	15
B2					2	2
Total	6	4	13	10	11	44

Comments

The Assembly expresses its satisfaction that the A7 grade attached to the post of Deputy Clerk, which the Secretary General had used provisionally since 1971 in another sector of the Secretariat, was returned to the Office of the Clerk at the beginning of the financial year 1976.

Sub-head 83 bis - Staffing changes requested for the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly

Nature of change	Post
Upgradings requested	1 A5 to A6	Head of department
Upgradings requested (token entry)	1 B3 to B4	Central support unit
2 B2 to B3	Bilingual assistants
New posts by transfer within Secretariat (token entry)	1 B3	Programme of scientific co-operation

Comments

8. In its Opinions Nos. 65 (1974) and 70 (1975), the Assembly expressed the view that its staffing table should include an A6 post of head of department, as was provisionally the case between 1971 and 1973.

9. This proposal was not accepted in either the 1975 or in the 1976 budget. However, the Assembly renews its request for the 1977 budget.

10. The Assembly wishes it to be put on record that in 1974 it also proposed a reorganisation of the Office of the Clerk to give it a central support unit under the Deputy Clerk, as recommended by the Management Survey Committee. These proposals were met in part in 1975 by regrading (1 B4 to B5) and transfer within the Secretariat (1 B4), but the upgrading of a B3 post to B4 is still awaited.

11. The Assembly also reiterates its opinion that all the assistants working for Assembly committees should be graded B3. There are still two B2 posts in the Office of the Clerk which should be thus upgraded. However, for the sake of economy the Assembly has decided to do without these upgradings in 1977 too, and mentions them simply for the record.

12. The Assembly draws attention lastly to its request for a new B3 post for the programme of scientific co-operation, which the Secretary General undertook to provide in 1975 by transfer within the Secretariat. Again, for reasons of economy this request is mentioned for the record only.

13. In conclusion, the Assembly points out that it is requesting only one upgrading for 1977, namely one A5 to A6. This change would entail a negligible increase of about 9 000 F.

Sub-head 84 - Expenses on arrival and departure - home leave

This sub-head covers :

travelling and removal expenses of staff of the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly and their families on taking up their duties, or on their departure ;

settling-in allowance ;

refund of travelling expenses of non-French staff and their families taking home leave.

Comments

The Assembly requests that the 1977 appropriation be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 85 - Overtime-allowances for exceptional duties

This estimate is to cover :

a overtime worked during sessions of the Assembly by permanent staff in the general services ;

b language allowance for B2 staff in the Office of the Clerk giving proof of an adequate knowledge of the two official languages (Resolution (72) 32 of the Committee of Ministers) ;

c allowances under Article 12 of the Staff Regulations (award of a special allowance to members of the staff performing duties of special responsibility) ;

d deputising allowance ;

e expenses of candidates called for recruitment tests.

Comments

The Assembly requests that the 1977 appropriation be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 86 - Staff recruited to fill vacant permanent posts on a temporary basis

This sub-head covers remuneration of staff recruited temporarily to the Office of the Clerk to fill permanent posts which are vacant or not remunerated (long-term illness) and additional charges relating thereto.

Sub-head 87 - Remuneration and accessory charges in respect of temporary conference staff

This sub-head covers remuneration and social charges for temporary staff (session staff, workshop staff, messengers, technicians, translators and above all interpreters) assigned to the Office of the Clerk during those sessions and meetings of the Assembly and its committees which are scheduled in the programme for 1977 at the time of drafting of the present opinion.

Comments

1. Due to the general use of four languages in committee meetings whose high cost made the organisation of meetings sometimes difficult at the end of the year, the Assembly requests a supplementary sum of 30 000 F, which represents an increase of less than 1%, under this sub-head.

2. However, should the Assembly have to alter its timetable for 1977, for example by holding four part-sessions instead of three within the statutory 31-day limit, it reserves the right to submit a supplementary estimate if this should prove necessary.

Sub-head 88 - Provision for cost-of-living allowance and other adjustments to remuneration

The estimate under this sub-head is to cover adjustments to the remuneration of staff allocated to the Office of the Clerk made after the date of completion of this draft budget (see also introduction above).

HEAD XXI - Supplies and services

Sub-head 89 - Publishing and printing

Estimate for 1977 : - 538 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 538 000 F

This sub-head covers publishing and printing costs relating to :

official Assembly documents, i.e. :

• 1 000 bilingual copies of the Working Papers (2 800-3 000 pages),
• 700 copies, in each official language, of the Official Report of Debates (1 200-1 400 pages) ;

distribution of reports and documents adopted by the Assembly and its committees and circulation and translation by national parliaments of certain texts adopted.

Comments

The Assembly requests that the 1977 appropriation be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 90 - Hire of cars

Estimate for 1977 : - 14 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 14 000 F

Hire of cars for the Assembly.

Comments

The Assembly requests that the appropriation for 1977 be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

HEAD XXII - Other operational expenditure

Sub-head 91 - Representational, travelling and subsistence expenses of the President of the Assembly

Estimate for 1977 : - 96 500 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 96 500 F

Comments

The Assembly requests that the appropriation for 1977 be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 92 - Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the Assembly

Estimate for 1977 : - 61 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 61 000 F

Estimate to cover :

special duties allowance ;

remuneration of a shorthand typist and other secretarial expenses ;

official travel by Private Office staff ;

sundry secretarial expenses.

Comments

The Assembly requests that the appropriation for 1977 be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 93 - Representational expenditure, other official expenditure and travelling expenses of members of the Assembly

Estimate for 1977 : - 260 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 260 000 F

Estimate to cover :

fixed allowances to the political groups to cover expenditure of various kinds, e.g. on secretarial assistance, documentation and travel, incurred by members of the Assembly in the discharge of specific duties for the Council of Europe - 132 000 F

entertainment and similar expenses incurred by the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and committee Chairmen and Rapporteurs - 36 000 F

travelling expenses and subsistence allowances of members of the Assembly attending meetings of certain Council of Europe bodies (other than sessions of the Assembly and meetings of Assembly committees) on the Council's behalf or travelling on Assembly business - 87 000 F

accident insurance premium for members of the Assembly travelling officially at the Council's expense - 5 000 F

Comments

The Assembly requests that the appropriation for 1977 be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 94 - Official journeys

Estimate for 1977 : - 280 500 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 280 500 F

Official travel by staff of the Office of the Clerk and other Secretariat staff required to attend meetings of Assembly bodies or accompanying the President or members of the Assembly on special official journeys.

Comments

The Assembly requests that the appropriation for 1977 be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 95 - Consultation of experts

Estimate for 1977 : - 370 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 370 000 F

This estimate is to cover fees, travelling expenses, subsistence allowances and administrative assistance for experts asked to carry out technical work or called in for consultation by Assembly bodies, either individually or in working parties. It is also intended to finance the programme of scientific co-operation set up by the Assembly on the initiative of the Committee on Science and Technology.

Comments

The Assembly regrets that the Committee of Ministers, when approving the budget for 1976, did not grant the supplementary estimate of 100 000 F for the programme of scientific co-operation. It continues to attach the greatest importance to this programme but reserves itself the right to put forward further requests at a later date.

Sub-head 96 - Organisation of ad hoc conferences

Estimate for 1977 : - 180 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 260 000 F

Reduction : - 80 000 F

This estimate is to cover the travelling and subsistence expenses of those taking part in conferences, colloquies, symposia and seminars organised by the Assembly in 1977, as well as the entertainment and other expenses incidental to those meetings.

Comments

For 1976 the Committee of Ministers granted the Assembly an increase of 130 000 F for a conference on the development of democratic institutions in Europe. The Assembly will not be in a position under the 1977 budget to return the whole of the additional appropriation thus granted, part of which is needed for the growing number of other symposia and conferences, which have proved their great usefulness and value as a stimulus in the Assembly's various fields of activity.

Sub-head 97 - Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote

Estimate for 1977 : - 33 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 33 000 F

Night watchmen, reception service, medals, gratuities for special work etc.

Comments

The Assembly requests that the appropriation for 1977 be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.

Sub-head 98 - Exceptional expenditure

Estimate for 1977 : - nil

Appropriation in 1976 : - nil

Sub-head 99 - Europe Prize

Estimate for 1977 : - 24 000 F

Appropriation in 1976 : - 24 000 F

- Europe Prize - 20 000 F

- Expenses connected with presentation of the Prize - 4 000 F

Comments

The Assembly requests that the appropriation for 1977 be maintained at the same level in real terms as for 1976.