The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday 25 October 2022. Debate on the bill was opened by incoming Minister of State, Dean Russell. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Jacob Rees-Mogg, having stepped down from his position earlier in the day (Grant Shapps has since been appointed). The Bill will give powers to UK government ministers to decide whether to retain, amend or remove retained EU law, including UK law that has its origins in EU law (for example, the VAT Regulations 1995). Perhaps most strikingly, the bill will automatically revoke any remaining retained EU law by default on 31 December 2023, unless ministers decide otherwise.
The Hansard Society has recently produced a briefing document which analyses five areas of particular concern and which it suggests need to be addressed before the bill is enacted:
the automatic expiry of retained EU law would be an ‘abdication of Parliament’s scrutiny and oversight role’;
The bill would introduce unnecessary legal, economic and political uncertainty;
ministers would be granted ‘excessive discretion’;
parliamentary scrutiny of the exercise of those powers would be limited; and
The bill would empower UK government ministers to take action in areas of policy which have been devolved to the regional administrations.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday 25 October 2022. Debate on the bill was opened by incoming Minister of State, Dean Russell. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Jacob Rees-Mogg, having stepped down from his position earlier in the day (Grant Shapps has since been appointed). The Bill will give powers to UK government ministers to decide whether to retain, amend or remove retained EU law, including UK law that has its origins in EU law (for example, the VAT Regulations 1995). Perhaps most strikingly, the bill will automatically revoke any remaining retained EU law by default on 31 December 2023, unless ministers decide otherwise.
The Hansard Society has recently produced a briefing document which analyses five areas of particular concern and which it suggests need to be addressed before the bill is enacted:
the automatic expiry of retained EU law would be an ‘abdication of Parliament’s scrutiny and oversight role’;
The bill would introduce unnecessary legal, economic and political uncertainty;
ministers would be granted ‘excessive discretion’;
parliamentary scrutiny of the exercise of those powers would be limited; and
The bill would empower UK government ministers to take action in areas of policy which have been devolved to the regional administrations.
