Key Facts

• The Committee will meet at specific times from November 8th to 29th.
• Witnesses scheduled include Sir Stephen Laws KCB KC and others on Tuesday 8th November.
• The Bill's proceedings shall be concluded by 5:00 pm on November 29th.
• Laws acknowledges the complexity of retained EU law post-Brexit.
• He agrees that reducing the influence of retained EU law is necessary but expresses reservations about certain aspects of the Bill.
• The Bill aims to strike a balance between legal certainty and seizing opportunities from no longer being tied to EU law.
• The Bill abolishes the principle of the supremacy of retained EU law.
• There are concerns about the clarity and certainty for businesses, especially in sectors like finance and environment, due to the sunset clause taking effect by the end of 2023.
• Sir Stephen Laws believes people have had six years to evaluate which laws are important and another year is not unreasonable to finalize their views.
• The National Archives found an additional 1,400 pieces of retained EU law that were previously unknown.
• There are approximately 3,800 pieces of legislation identified as potentially subject to the sunset clause.
• Professor Barnard emphasizes the need for clarity and proper consultation on which laws should be retained or removed.
• The UK has had six years to think about which laws to retain or remove post-Brexit.
• The number of pieces of legislation set to disappear unless specifically retained is around 1,400 more than previously thought.
• There are no precedents for such a large-scale change in legislation simultaneously.
• Professor Barnard mentions that the Bill could lead to issues about managing conflicts between rules.
• There are an additional 1,400 pieces of legislation affected.
• Jacob Rees-Mogg's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy requires 400 civil servants for 300 pieces of legislation.
• The last time the Commons overturned a negative statutory instrument was in 1979.
• DEFRA was expecting 570 regulations.
• There are reports of an additional 1,400 pieces of legislation affecting various fields.
• The Northern Ireland protocol will be impacted if hundreds or thousands of regulations are automatically revoked due to lack of time for replacements.
• Martin Howe KC and Tom Sharpe KC are giving evidence.
• The session focuses on understanding the implications of removing references to sections 183A to 186 of the Data Protection Act 2018 under clause 4.
• Clause 7(3) and (7)(4) differ in criteria for departing from retained law.
• The 2018 Act restricted changes to retained EU law except by Act of Parliament.
• Two Bills, one on motor insurance and another on gene editing, corrected misinterpretations of EU directives but only via private Member’s Bills.
• These corrections demonstrate the impracticality of modifying retained EU law through primary legislation.
• The European Communities Act 1972 provided enabling power for enacting sweeping legislation.
• No regulation introduced under this act has ever been debated or amended by the House of Commons.
• Directives were approved by Parliament but with residual power only to observe objectives set out.
• The Bill includes mechanisms for parliamentary scrutiny under clause 15(3).
• Some changes will be determined by affirmative resolution, while others will go through the sifting procedure.
• There is a suggestion to establish taskforces involving practitioners and regulators within each Department.
• Mark Fenhalls KC of the Bar Council expressed concern over the uncertainty created by the Bill for international business relations.
• The Government’s approach is described as a 'framework Bill' with unclear intentions and lack of detailed guidance on which laws will be retained, removed or amended.
• There have been thousands of responses to the dashboard regarding submissions to the Government.
• George Peretz had a technical issue joining the session.
• The Government's approach with the Retained EU Law Bill introduces unprecedented uncertainty compared to normal law reform processes.
• The EU Communities Act 1972 section 2(2) underestimates democratic scrutiny mechanisms for EU law.
• Clause 4 of the Bill could reduce data protection standards in the UK, potentially costing businesses up to £1.6 billion.
• There are concerns about the ability of Parliament to properly scrutinise a large volume of retained EU laws within the short timeframe specified by the sunset clause.
• The MP references the Financial Times story showing risks of overlooked regulations.
• Suggests adding a list of affected regulations as an amendment to the Bill.
• Highlights technical issues and power limitations regarding ministerial amendments post-revision.
• The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is under review by the Public Bill Committee.
• The session was adjourned due to reaching the scheduled end time of 11:25 am.
• The Committee will reconvene at 2 pm on the same day.