Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Conclusion 18

Second Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century Published 29 Jan 2024 Paragraph 71

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Conclusion (the committee's words)

The negotiation and conclusion of treaties is a reserved matter. As such, devolved legislatures do not currently have a formal role in the scrutiny of treaties. However, many treaties, in particular following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, may cover subject matters that touch on areas of devolved competence. It is important that the devolved legislatures are able to consider the impact of a treaty on these areas. We believe that adequate time should be available for devolved legislatures to conduct meaningful scrutiny of treaties that impact on areas of devolved competence. However, it is a matter for the devolved legislatures how they Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century 63 choose to carry out scrutiny and arrange their business, both in their committees and their chambers. We would, however, hope again that a practice might develop whereby the devolved legislatures carry out scrutiny, produce reports and hold debates on a treaty in sufficient time so that the views of the devolved legislatures can be taken into account when the House of Commons votes on whether to approve a treaty.

From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Second Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century (HC 204), paragraph 71, 29 January 2024

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 18 April 2024 (deadline 29 March 2024).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government partially agrees with some conclusions but does not accept that the existing framework for treaty scrutiny is insufficient, and disagrees with the recommendation that Parliament must approve all treaties.

On the recommended active approval process, the government says it "does not accept" that Parliament requires further powers and that Part 2 of CRaG "strikes the appropriate balance", so "no legislative changes are required".
It disagrees with a central repository for non-legally binding instruments, calling it "impractical", but says it "will update its published guidance to encourage consistency and transparency".
It accepts the recommendation to keep providing an explanatory memorandum alongside treaties laid under CRaG, and says it will keep the information provided "in review".
On negotiating mandates, it says a working practices agreement is "neither necessary nor appropriate", though it remains "committed to the principles of transparency and positive engagement" while retaining discretion over information shared.

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