Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend that the UK’s future relationship with the European Union will be established in the withdrawal agreement or whether further negotiations will be required.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
Article 50 states that the process for withdrawal will take account of the ‘framework’ of the leaving Member State’s future relationship with the EU, and there is a clear connection between the terms of our withdrawal and the future relationship that we want to establish.We do not want to get ahead of the negotiations or set out unilateral positions. How we take the process forward will be a matter for discussion with the EU institutions and our European partners. But given the language in Article 50, and the connection between our withdrawal and our future relationship, it is our intention to seek to deal with both sets of issues together wherever possible, something that would clearly be in the interests of the EU as well as the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have begun to draft the contents of the expected bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972 and whether or not there will be an opportunity for Parliament to comment on the bill prior to its introduction.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Department for Exiting the European Union is working with officials from across government and is responsible for bringing forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU.
The Government will ensure Parliament is able to scrutinise properly the Great Repeal Bill, and is considering the best approach.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need for a greater period or more stages of pre-legislative scrutiny in advance of the introduction of the expected bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Department for Exiting the European Union is working with officials from across government and is responsible for bringing forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU.
The Government will ensure Parliament is able to scrutinise properly the Great Repeal Bill, and is considering the best approach.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for naming, and drafting, the expected bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Department for Exiting the European Union is working with officials from across government and is responsible for bringing forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU.
The Government will ensure Parliament is able to scrutinise properly the Great Repeal Bill, and is considering the best approach.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to include changes to the UK’s relationship with the European Court of Human Rights in the expected bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The European Convention on Human Rights is a treaty under the auspices of the Council of Europe, an entirely separate organisation from the European Union. The Government has no plans to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are any circumstances, as part of the negotiations for the UK’s exit from the EU, whereby a new treaty would have to be signed; and what implications this would have on the expected introduction of a bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU. This ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK.
Under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, the arrangements relating to the UK’s withdrawal are to be made between the UK and the EU in a withdrawal treaty. Our efforts will be focused on getting the best deal possible for the UK in the negotiations with the EU. The Government will observe the constitutional and legal precedents that apply to the deal that we will negotiate with the EU.