Common Agricultural Policy and Market Measures (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Richard Bacon
Main Page: Richard Bacon (Conservative - South Norfolk)Department Debates - View all Richard Bacon's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Common Agricultural Policy and Market Measures (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Richard Bacon Excerpts(5 years ago)
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Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk) (Con)
I will not detain the Committee for long, Sir Henry. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship; I always feel that Committees go better when someone from Norfolk is in the Chair.
I have a question for the Minister, which relates to paragraph 8.1 of the explanatory memorandum. It came to a surprise to many of us, in the week when we thought we were going to leave the European Union—that is to say the week of 25 March, the Friday of which was 29 March, which is named as exit day in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018—that in fact, that Act had not been commenced. Although it sits on the statute book as an Act of Parliament, it does not have legal force. Paragraph 8.1 of the explanatory memorandum says:
“This instrument is being made using the powers in section 8(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 in order to address failures”
and so on. My question for the Minister is this: has the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 now been commenced? If it has not, how is it possible for this instrument to be made using the powers contained therein? Is it the case—I understand this is possible, but I do not know—that section 8 of the Act has been commenced, even though the rest of it has not?