European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages – 2nd Reading – Committee Stage – Report Stage, January – June 2018

Author (Corporate)
Series Title
Series Details LLN 2018/11 (25.01.18)
Publication Date 19/06/2018
Content Type

Members of the House of Lords, including scientists, academics, doctors, business leaders and former chancellors of the exchequer, secretaries of state, law lords and heads of the civil service, debated the key purpose and principles of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill during the House of Lords second reading, on 30 and 31 January 2018.

A House of Lords Library Briefing was prepared in advance of the second reading.

During second reading, members debated the main purpose of the bill and flag up concerns and specific areas where they think amendments (changes) were needed. There are usually no votes and no changes suggested at this stage. Changes would be usually suggested and voted on in later stages of the bill: committee, report and third reading.

The House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report called European Union (Withdrawal) Bill on the 29 January 2018, a day before the House of Lords held second reading of the Bill.

In its report the Committee called on the UK Government to amend the Bill. They said that legislation was necessary to ensure legal continuity and certainty when the United Kingdom left the European Union.

The Committee did not comment on the merits of Brexit, but concluded that the Bill, as drafted, had fundamental flaws of a constitutional nature. The Committee found that the Bill risked undermining the legal certainty it sought to provide, gave overly-broad powers to ministers, and had significant consequences for the relationship between the UK Government and the devolved administrations.

The Committee proposed a number of recommendations to improve the Bill to make it more constitutionally appropriate and fit for purpose, while still meeting the Government’s objectives.

Nevertheless, the bill passed its second reading in the House of Lords on the 31 January 2018 without a vote – after some 20 hours of debate over two days, during which 190 peers spoke - the highest number on record for this stage of a bill in the Lords.

The Committee Stage in the House of Lords began on the 21 February 2018 and was completed on the 28 March 2018. The Committee stage was completed with the bill unamended.

The Report stage began on the 18 April 2018. The Bill was considered for six days on report, between 18 April and 8 May 2018. For details and analysis of the report stage click here.

By the 8 May 2018 the House of Lords had adopted 14 substantive amendments to the Bill.

+ a requirement to report on negotiations to continue in a customs union with the EU
+ enhanced scrutiny procedures for future changes to retained EU law in certain policy areas
+ retention of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
+ ability to bring legal cases on the grounds of a failure to comply with the general principles of EU law
+ ministers’ ability to specify when the validity of retained EU law could be challenged in court
+ the threshold for using certain delegated powers to be when it is 'necessary' rather than when the minister considers it 'appropriate'
+ giving Parliament a ‘meaningful vote’ on the outcome of negotiations with the EU
+ parliamentary approval of the mandate for negotiations on the UK’s future relationship with the EU
+ maintaining rights to refugee family reunion
+ continuation of North-South cooperation and the prevention of new border arrangements in Northern Ireland
+ future relationship with EU agencies
+ removing the fixed date of exit day
+ continued participation in the European Economic Area
+ giving parliamentary sifting committees the ability to insist that certain statutory instruments are made using the affirmative procedure.

This led to calls from some Brexit favouring Conservative MPs to call for a fundamental reform of the 'unelected' House of Lords.

The Third Reading of the Bill was heard on the 16 May 2018, a chance for members to 'tidy up' the bill and make changes. The government suffered a further defeat on one motion.

The Bill then returned to the House of Commons for further consideration on the 12-13 June 2018. After two days of limited debate and much behind the scenes negotiations the government overturned the fifteen House of Lords amendments which it opposed.

The bill then returned to the House of Lords for consideration of House of Commons amendments on 18 June 2018.

After further negotiations, the House of Lords gave their final agreement to the latest version of the bill on the 20 June 2018. The bill now awaited royal assent.

Background
Following the 8 June 2017 General Election in the United Kingdom the State Opening of Parliament took place on the 21 June 2017. This marked the formal start of the parliamentary year and included the Queen's Speech which set out the government’s agenda for the 2017-19 session, outlining proposed policies and legislation.

The programme was dominated by proposed legislation dealing with the United Kingdom's planned leaving of the European Union. Eight of the twenty seven bills to be introduced were connected with Brexit.

+ European Union (Withdrawal) Bill (introduced on the 13 July 2017)
+ Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill (Customs Bill)
+ Trade Bill (introduced on the 7 November 2017)
+ Immigration Bill
+ Fisheries Bill
+ Agriculture Bill
+ Nuclear Safeguards Bill (introduced on the 11 October 2017)
+ International Sanctions Bill (introduced on the 18 October 2017)

Even though the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill was introduced in July 2017 parliamentary scrutiny in practice only began in the autumn of 2017 after the summer break. Opposition parties, human rights groups and the leaders of Scotland and Wales criticised aspects of the bill and suggested they would call for substantive amendments.

During the Committee Stage of the Bill in November and December 2017 the House of Commons Library produced a series of Research Briefings on aspects / articles of the Bill:

+ The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Clause 7 'the correcting power'
+ EU (Withdrawal) Bill: clauses 9, 8 and 17
+ The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Devolution (Clauses 10 and 11)
+ The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Financial provision and fees and charges (Clause 12)
+ The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Exit day (Clauses 1 and 9)

The House of Lords Constitution Committee published a critical report on the Bill on 29 January 2018.

The Committee did not comment on the merits of Brexit, but concluded that the Bill, as drafted, had fundamental flaws of a constitutional nature. The Committee found that the Bill risked undermining the legal certainty it sought to provide, gave overly-broad powers to ministers, and had significant consequences for the relationship between the UK Government and the devolved administrations.

The Committee proposed a number of recommendations to improve the Bill to make it more constitutionally appropriate and fit for purpose, while still meeting the Government’s objectives.

Linked politically but separately the UK Government had announced on the 13 November 2017 a new Bill to enshrine the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU in domestic law.

The Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill would give legal standing to separation from the EU.

It would confirm that the major policies set out in the Withdrawal Agreement would be directly implemented into domestic law by primary legislation – not by secondary legislation under the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. This would allow for Parliamentary scrutiny and oversight of the process.

Source Link http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/LLN-2018-0011/LLN-2018-0011.pdf
Related Links
The Conversation, 23.01.18: What to expect when the Brexit bill hits the House of Lords – ten predictions https://theconversation.com/what-to-expect-when-the-brexit-bill-hits-the-house-of-lords-ten-predictions-90414
Blog: Verfassungsblog, 02.02.18: With a little help from Henry VIII https://verfassungsblog.de/with-a-little-help-from-henry-viii/
United Kingdom: Parliament: House of Lords: News, 30.01.18: Lords debates EU (Withdrawal) Bill (and periodically updated - latest update: 20.06.18) https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2018/january/lords-debates-eu-withdrawal-bill/
Blog: UK in a Changing Europe, 31.01.18: EU Withdrawal Bill: what to expect in the Lords http://ukandeu.ac.uk/eu-withdrawal-bill-what-to-expect-in-the-lords/
In Facts, 02.02.18: Don’t forget the Lords https://infacts.org/dont-forget-lords/
United Kingdom: Parliament: House of Lords: Library http://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/work-of-the-house-of-lords/lords-library/
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Institute for Government: Explainers: EU Withdrawal Bill: amendments and debates (February 2017 and periodically updated - latest update: 26.03.18)) https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/eu-withdrawal-bill-amendments-and-debates?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2023%20February&utm_content=Newsletter%2023%20February+CID_3d7a631f55205c95145ea1e94ec2b9e4&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=EU%20Withdrawal%20Bill
United Kingdom: Parliament: House of Lords: Library: Library Note: LLN 2018/56 (18.05.18): European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Summary of Lords Amendments http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/LLN-2018-0056/LLN-2018-0056.pdf
United Kingdom: Parliament: House of Commons: Briefing Paper, No.8238 (05.06.18): European Union (Withdrawal) Bill 2017-19: Commons consideration of Lords amendments http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8328/CBP-8328.pdf
United Kingdom: Parliament: House of Lords: Library: Library Note: LLN 2018/38 (12.04.18): European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Lords Committee Stage, April-May 2018 http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/LLN-2018-0038/LLN-2018-0038.pdf
UK: GOV.UK: Cabinet Office: Collection, 25.04.18: European Union (Withdrawal) Bill - Agreement between the UK and Welsh governments https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/european-union-withdrawal-bill-agreement-between-the-uk-and-welsh-governments

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