Government to amend sunsetting provisions of retained EU law legislation amid “risks of legal uncertainty”

The Government is to amend drafting in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill under which almost all REUL would have been automatically revoked at the end of 2023, unless a statutory instrument was passed to preserve it.

In a ministerial statement Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, said: “Over the past year Whitehall departments have been working hard to identify retained EU law to preserve, reform or revoke.

“However, with the growing volume of REUL being identified, and the risks of legal uncertainty posed by sunsetting instruments made under EU law, it has become clear that the programme was becoming more about reducing legal risk by preserving EU laws than prioritising meaningful reform.

“That is why today I am proposing a new approach: one that will ensure ministers and officials can focus more on reforming REUL, and doing that faster.”

Badenoch said the Government would table an amendment for Lords Report, which would replace the current sunset in the Bill with a list of the retained EU laws that it intends to revoke under the Bill at the end of 2023.

“This provides certainty for business by making it clear which regulations will be removed from our statue book, instead of highlighting only the REUL that would be saved. We will retain the vitally important powers in the Bill that allow us to continue to amend EU laws, so more complex regulation can still be revoked or reformed after proper assessment and consultation,” Badenoch said.

The Secretary of State added: “We will still fully take back control of our laws and end the supremacy and special status of retained EU law by the end of 2023. We will also make our laws fit for UK purposes: reducing the regulatory burden and controlling the flow of new regulation. We will no longer tie business up in red tape.""

Badenoch said that the Government had already revoked or reformed over 1,000 EU laws since the country's exit from the EU. "In addition to the list of around 600 we propose to revoke directly through the REUL Bill, the Financial Services and Markets Bill and the Procurement Bill will revoke around a further 500 pieces of REUL."

She added: "We are committed to lightening the regulatory burden on businesses and helping to spur economic growth, and our Edinburgh Reforms of UK financial services include over 30 regulatory reforms to unlock investment and boost growth in towns and cities across the UK.”

The Secretary of State claimed that changes to employment law announced at the same time could help save businesses around £1bn a year, “while safeguarding the rights of workers”.

The Government will consult on “cutting unnecessary red tape” on recording working hours, streamline engagement with workers when a business transfers to new owners, and provide up to 5 million UK workers greater freedom to switch jobs by limiting non-compete clauses.