Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 28
Second Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century
Published 29 Jan 2024
Paragraph 133
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The current arrangements in Parliament for the scrutiny of international agreements are not commensurate with their constitutional importance. The House of Lords has taken steps to address this constitutional lacuna with the establishment of the International Agreements Committee. By contrast, the scrutiny arrangements in the House of Commons are currently insufficient to carry out what is a core function of Parliament, namely the scrutiny of international agreements. This core function should be understood to include involvement in the mandate setting and negotiation phases, the ultimate approval of treaties, and holding the Government to account for their exercise of powers to negotiate and reach these agreements. The important work done by the International Trade Committee during its existence has demonstrated the vital nature of a strategic approach to the parliamentary scrutiny of treaties. Furthermore, we are of the view that the statutory changes we have recommended earlier in this report, requiring all treaties to be subject to parliamentary process and, in appropriate cases, expressly approved by the House of Commons, should result in a greater focus from committees on international agreements. It is clear that the House of Commons is well placed to use its existing subject specialism in the departmental committee structure to provide detailed policy-focused scrutiny of international agreements. However, we note that this may not be sufficient by itself. We recommend that the Liaison Committee adds the scrutiny of international agreements to the core tasks of all relevant committees. To further support this aim, we call on the Government to bring forward a motion to amend the Standing Orders to add “scrutiny of relevant international agreements” to the remit of all relevant committees. Moreover, to ensure that scrutiny of international agreements is given the necessary attention in the House of Commons, we further recommend that a bespoke committee is estab
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Second Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century (HC 204), paragraph 133, 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.