Scottish Parliament Refuses Consent For Retained EU Law Bill

24th February 2023

The UK Government should withdraw the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill after MSPs voted to withhold the consent of the Scottish Parliament, according to the Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson.

Speaking during a debate in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Robertson said the Bill, which is currently in the House of Lords, threatens vital regulations in the environment, food standards and employment sectors and must now be withdrawn.

With MSPs refusing to provide legislative consent, Mr Robertson said the reaction of UK Ministers would be a key test of whether or not it plans to continue to ignore or override the views of the Scottish Parliament.

If the Bill is not withdrawn, the Scottish Government has published updated amendments to lessen the impact of the Bill.

Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said:

"The Scottish Government and a number of key organisations across a range of sectors have many concerns about the Bill and we have repeatedly called on the UK Government to withdraw it.

"Firstly, it risks deregulation and threatens the high standards the people of Scotland experienced and benefited from as an EU member state for over 47 years. Secondly, the Bill includes powers for UK Ministers to act in areas of devolved responsibility without the consent of Scottish Ministers or this Parliament. This is clearly unacceptable and how the UK Government reacts will be a key test of whether or not they intend to continue to ride roughshod over devolution. Thirdly, the Bill includes a ‘cliff-edge' sunset provision, which could see thousands of laws wiped overnight.

"I am pleased colleagues across the Scottish Parliament have voted to withhold consent for the Bill and I urge the UK Government to scrap it entirely. If the UK Government are intent on a race to the bottom that will impact standards across the UK, we have published a series of updated amendments to the Bill to mitigate the worst of its impacts."

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill seeks to revoke thousands of pieces of EU legislation that were included in the UK statute book at the end of the Brexit transition period. Scottish Ministers have repeatedly highlighted their concerns that the Bill puts standards at risk, including regulations protecting rights for pregnant women at work, environmental standards and requirements to label food for allergens.

Retained EU Reform Bill - https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3340

What is the retained EU law Bill?
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill will enable the government to implement policies in its Benefits of Brexit report, dated January 2022, allowing it to repeal or assimilate retained EU law (REUL) and remove its supremacy in the UK legal system by the end of 2023.

This, for example, includes, 588 pieces of legislation which are identified as relating to the environment; 493 pieces of legislation related to agriculture, forestry and fishing; 482 related to transportation and storage; and 347 related to manufacturing; and 58 related to health and safety.

A total of 52,741 laws* have been introduced in the UK as a result of EU legislation since 1990, according to the Legal business of Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.

One example is the right contained in Article 157 relating to equal pay for equal work between men and women, which continues to be available in UK law. However, not all directly applicable EU Treaty rights continue to be available in this way and many have effectively been disapplied.

Finally
Obviously with huge numbers of laws to be affected by the change it will impact on our lives in many ways we cannot even think of as yet.

Read more HERE
Regardless of your views on the matter, if the Bill is passed the effects will likely be significant. The extent to which employment rights are kept, changed or removed remains unknown, which leaves employers with a lot of uncertainty. For now, we will have to remain patient until more concrete policy proposals regarding UK employment laws are confirmed, but employers may need to brace themselves for extensive changes at the end of the year with little forewarning.