Select committee: Constitution Committee

13th Report - Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill

Published 17 February 2023

Constitution Committee Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance5 recommendations · Government response published 15 May 2023

The government's response

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

The Government responds that it considers the Bill's delegated powers "necessary and appropriate", disagrees that the Bill is framework legislation, and agrees on one point about criminal offences.

On parliamentary scrutiny, it says all statutory instruments using the clause 16(3) power "will be subject to the affirmative procedure", as will those amending primary legislation; instruments that revoke REUL or restate interpretive effects will be subject to the sifting procedure.
On criminal offences, it "agrees" that delegated legislation should not create new offences Parliament has not scrutinised, saying any offences or penalties under the Bill must "correspond to, or be similar to" those in the revoked provisions. The response does not state that the clause will be amended.
On devolved administrations, it says it is "unnecessary to make this commitment" to consult before using the powers in devolved areas, because existing fora are working well. It states it would "not normally" legislate in devolved areas without agreement.
On legal certainty, it says amendments laid at Lords Report Stage will replace the sunset in clause 1 with revocation of specified legislation listed in a Schedule, to be revoked on 31 December 2023. It states that no REUL required to uphold international commitments will be included.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

What the committee recommended 5

16
We reiterate our concerns about applying the negative resolution procedure to regulations which alter policy... Recommendation
33
We reiterate our conclusion that the use of delegated legislation to create criminal offences is... Recommendation
39
We reiterate our position that UK ministers should make regulations in areas of devolved competence... Recommendation
40
We recommend that the Bill is amended to require UK ministers to consult the relevant... Recommendation
43
We reiterate our recommendation that when there is disagreement between the Government and a devolved... Recommendation

Sources

13th Report - Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill ↗The committee's report, parliament.uk
Government response to the Committee's report on the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (10 May 2023) ↗The government's response, 15 May 2023, parliament.uk

Recommendations and conclusions 5

16
We reiterate our concerns about applying the negative resolution procedure to regulations which alter policy... Recommendation Recommendation (the committee's words)
We reiterate our concerns about applying the negative resolution procedure to regulations which alter policy in areas previously governed by retained EU law. We recommend that the affirmative procedure is used for all regulations under the Bill which involve making policy.
33
We reiterate our conclusion that the use of delegated legislation to create criminal offences is... Recommendation Recommendation (the committee's words)
We reiterate our conclusion that the use of delegated legislation to create criminal offences is in general constitutionally unacceptable. Clause 15(4) should be amended so that the power may not be used to create criminal offences . Devolution Use of powers in areas of devolved competence
39
We reiterate our position that UK ministers should make regulations in areas of devolved competence... Recommendation Recommendation (the committee's words)
We reiterate our position that UK ministers should make regulations in areas of devolved competence only after consulting the relevant devolved administration. In instances where common frameworks—a vital part of a co-operative union—are engaged, it is important that policy agreed by consensus through the common framework system is not undermined.
40
We recommend that the Bill is amended to require UK ministers to consult the relevant... Recommendation Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the Bill is amended to require UK ministers to consult the relevant devolved administration before making regulations that affect areas of devolved competence. It would be welcome if the Government were to commit not normally to use the powers under the Bill in areas of devolved competence without having obtained the consent of the relevant devolved administration. Sewel convention
43
We reiterate our recommendation that when there is disagreement between the Government and a devolved... Recommendation Recommendation (the committee's words)
We reiterate our recommendation that when there is disagreement between the Government and a devolved administration as to whether the legislative consent process is engaged the Government should justify its approach to the House at the beginning of a bill’s consideration. In the case of this Bill, it should do so at the earliest opportunity. Legal uncertainty