The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022
It seems that the government has come to it's senses on this at last!
The Business and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch announced on 10 May 2023 that a new approach was being taken. Writing in the Telegraph she said:
"... now that I’ve been given responsibility for EU laws that have remained on the UK statute book, I want to make sure we do so in a way that maximises our competitive advantage. Yes, of course I want to ensure we remove any unnecessary regulations we inherited from Brussels over the past 50 years, and do so as soon as possible. But the real prize is the unique opportunity to look again at these regulations and decide if they’re right for our economy, if we can scrap them, or if we can reform and improve them and help spur economic growth.
The Government introduced the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill so that we could end the special status of retained EU law. It ensures that, for the first time in a generation, the UK’s statute book will not recognise the supremacy of EU law or EU legal principles. As the Bill is currently drafted, almost all REUL is automatically revoked at the end of 2023, unless a statutory instrument is passed to preserve it.
When I was handed responsibility for this Bill I saw that, confronted with the default position of retained EU law sunsetting at the end of this year, Whitehall departments had focused on which laws should be preserved ahead of the deadline, rather than pursuing the meaningful reform Government and businesses want to see. I decided a new approach was needed; one that will ensure ministers and officials are freed up to focus on more reform of REUL, and to do it faster ...
... Getting rid of EU law in the UK should be about more than a race to a deadline. It should be about making sure our laws work for the people who use them ..."
You can read her full article in the Telegraph Online HERE
Full details of the original Bill are still available on the government website HERE.
The list of retained EU laws that the Government intend to revoke under the Bill at the end of 2023 is now available HERE.
Thanks again to all of you who expressed concerns about this to your MP. I am sure we all played a part in bringing about this much more realistic and sensible approach!
The Business and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch announced on 10 May 2023 that a new approach was being taken. Writing in the Telegraph she said:
"... now that I’ve been given responsibility for EU laws that have remained on the UK statute book, I want to make sure we do so in a way that maximises our competitive advantage. Yes, of course I want to ensure we remove any unnecessary regulations we inherited from Brussels over the past 50 years, and do so as soon as possible. But the real prize is the unique opportunity to look again at these regulations and decide if they’re right for our economy, if we can scrap them, or if we can reform and improve them and help spur economic growth.
The Government introduced the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill so that we could end the special status of retained EU law. It ensures that, for the first time in a generation, the UK’s statute book will not recognise the supremacy of EU law or EU legal principles. As the Bill is currently drafted, almost all REUL is automatically revoked at the end of 2023, unless a statutory instrument is passed to preserve it.
When I was handed responsibility for this Bill I saw that, confronted with the default position of retained EU law sunsetting at the end of this year, Whitehall departments had focused on which laws should be preserved ahead of the deadline, rather than pursuing the meaningful reform Government and businesses want to see. I decided a new approach was needed; one that will ensure ministers and officials are freed up to focus on more reform of REUL, and to do it faster ...
... Getting rid of EU law in the UK should be about more than a race to a deadline. It should be about making sure our laws work for the people who use them ..."
You can read her full article in the Telegraph Online HERE
Full details of the original Bill are still available on the government website HERE.
The list of retained EU laws that the Government intend to revoke under the Bill at the end of 2023 is now available HERE.
Thanks again to all of you who expressed concerns about this to your MP. I am sure we all played a part in bringing about this much more realistic and sensible approach!
