The European Union Withdrawal Bill, ensures that, so far as possible, the same rules and laws will apply on the day after exit as on the day before providing the maximum possible certainty and continuity to businesses, employees and consumers across the whole UK – that they will not be subject to unexpected changes on the day we leave the EU.
This Bill is needed to ensure that the statute book is able to function on the day we leave the EU – and the Bill is therefore technical in nature rather than a vehicle for major policy changes:
- making inoperable legislation, operable
– giving the UK and devolved governments a time limited power to correct laws by secondary legislation that would otherwise not function properly once we left the EU.
-With powers going to the Welsh Government to make changes in devolved areas – and UK Ministers only able to do this on devolved matters with consent.
This Bill will ensure that Welsh businesses, including farmers and steel producers can continue to trade with the European Union immediately after the UK leaves the EU.
This is also essential for the negotiations that will follow, where the UK as a whole must be able to guarantee EU principles in order to get a trade deal with the EU.
The same rules and laws will apply to businesses, and the same rights to workers as we leave the European Union.
Although the Bill will ensure “retained EU law” the day after leaving the EU, this will only be in a “holding pattern” within a transitional arrangement that will provide certainty after Exit - and allow for intense discussions with the Welsh Government, the National Assembly and the other devolved administrations and legislators on Common Frameworks to, for example, ensure that there are no barriers to working and trading within the UK, and no risks to agreeing future trade agreements.
As a result of this process, the UK Government expects there to be a significant increase in the decision-making power of each Devolved administration.
Because the Bill affects the powers of the devolved administration and legislators, the UK Government will seek the consent of the devolved legislators for the Bill.
It is regrettable that the First Minister described the Bill as “a naked power grab” last Thursday, and then said the next day that the Welsh Secretary had assured him that they will work together “to make the situation acceptable” – when this assurance had been already been provided before he issued his “naked power grab” statement.
As a UK Government source in Wales confirmed last Thursday, his initial response was “completely different” to what they were seeing in talks behind the scenes.
However, I hope he will support our amendment, which “Recognises that the Parliaments and Assemblies of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are part of the modern democratic settlement of the United Kingdom and should be fully engaged with the future makeup of a vibrant UK post-Brexit”.
The UK Government intends to work closely with devolved administrations to identify areas that do not need common frameworks and which could therefore be released from the transitional arrangement.
Beyond that, however, we need agreed UK wide frameworks which respect the devolved settlement.
After all, if Frameworks are agreed, there will be no constitutional problem.
Although this Bill does not take back existing competencies from the Assembly, there is no end date for the restriction on devolved competency created by the “retained EU law” model it will introduce, where the UK Government argues that this would remove incentives for Welsh Ministers to agree a UK Framework.
In reality, however, both the Welsh Government and this Assembly have consistently called for an agreed framework.
There is therefore no reason why the Bill could not state that the restriction on devolved competency would end when common agreed Frameworks come into force.
Although international agreements in the devolved areas of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment are reserved to the UK Government, the principles and provisions applying to these areas must provide a foundation for future agreements on common frameworks between the Governments of the UK as a basis of any Free Trade Agreement.
It is therefore essential that this Bill should address these matters - and I therefore welcome confirmation from the UK Government that, on the issue of amendments, the Bill’s Second Reading is scheduled for Westminster’s Autumn Term, specifically to allow devolved administrations to go through the Bill in detail during the summer.