Overview

This bill concerns amendments to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. The main focus of the amendments is to strengthen environmental protections and food standards during the process of revoking or reforming EU laws retained in UK legislation after Brexit. Disagreements between the House of Lords and the House of Commons led to several iterations of amendments before a final version was agreed.

Description

The core of the amendments centers around ensuring that new regulations replacing or reforming retained EU law do not weaken existing environmental protections or food standards. Several versions of amendments were proposed and rejected before a final compromise was reached.

Environmental Protections:

The final amendment requires that any new regulations must not lower the level of environmental protection provided by the original EU law. Relevant national authorities must seek independent expert advice and publish reports detailing how the new regulations maintain or improve environmental protection, referencing specific international environmental agreements.

Food Standards:

While initial amendments included safeguards for food standards, these were removed in the final version. The final version focuses solely on environmental protection.

Parliamentary Scrutiny:

A key amendment introduces a strengthened parliamentary scrutiny process for regulations made under Section 15 of the main bill. This process involves referring proposals for new regulations replacing or reforming EU retained law to a House of Commons committee. The committee can recommend against the regulations, and if the committee believes that special attention should be drawn to the regulations, then a debate and vote on the floor of each House of Parliament is required before the regulations are made. This process allows for a more detailed review and potential amendment of the proposed regulations by Parliament.

Government Spending

The amendments are not expected to have a direct impact on government spending. The costs associated with fulfilling the requirements of the amendments (e.g., expert advice, report publication, parliamentary scrutiny) are likely to be absorbed within existing government budgets.

Groups Affected

• Relevant National Authorities: These bodies will face increased responsibilities in ensuring compliance with the strengthened environmental protection requirements, including seeking expert advice and publishing reports.
• Environmental NGOs and campaign groups: These groups will likely benefit from the strengthened environmental safeguards and increased parliamentary scrutiny.
• Businesses: Businesses operating in sectors regulated by the affected EU retained laws may face adjustments to comply with new regulations, though the ultimate impact will depend on the specifics of each regulation.
• Parliament: Parliament will have an increased role in scrutinizing the proposed regulations via the House of Commons Committee.

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