Davis plays down scale of task despite volume to be transferred into UK legislation

2 hours ago by: Kate Allen and George Parker

The UK government on Thursday will publish a white paper setting out its plan for transferring the EU’s legislation into Britain’s law books through a Great Repeal Bill that will require up to 1,000 statutory instruments.

David Davis, Brexit secretary, has played down the difficulty of repealing existing regulations from Brussels and defended the process the government will use, which will involve secondary legislation that receives only limited parliamentary scrutiny.

Speaking to the BBC on Thursday morning, Mr Davis said he expected the repeal bill to simply cut and paste EU law on to the British statute book, so that a post-Brexit trade deal with Brussels can be struck more easily.

“The white paper takes on board all the EU law so that on the day we leave we are in exactly the same position,” he said.

Mr Davis’s plan, to be presented to the House of Commons on Thursday morning, comes less than 24 hours after Britain formally began the process of leaving the EU by presenting a letter to Donald Tusk, the European Council president, activating the EU treaty’s Article 50 exit clause.

The treaty sets a two-year deadline to complete Britain’s exit, meaning all of the EU’s legal and regulatory regimes that now apply to the UK — everything from the approval process for pharmaceuticals to oversight of nuclear safety — must be transposed into UK law before then.

Legal experts have warned Parliament will be overwhelmed by the scale of the task, with the constitutional specialists at the Hansard Society, a non-profit that promotes democratic practices worldwide, saying that the Commons does not have the capacity to properly vet all the new legislation needed. Related article What is the Great Repeal Bill and how will it work? Process by which the UK leaves the EU will have huge consequences for business

The government white paper is likely to involve parliament being asked to grant the government new powers to change existing laws, authority known as “Henry VIII powers”.

Ministers argue the move is necessary because the terms of the UK’s exit deal with the EU will not be known by the time the Great Repeal Bill is introduced to parliament later this year; the bill must be law by the time of Brexit day, to avoid a legal cliff-edge when EU laws stop being applicable.

Mr Davis told the BBC that parliament could decide to re-regulate in certain areas at a later date but that it was important UK law mirrored EU law on the day of exit so that a trade deal will be easier to negotiate.

EU officials, as well as the German government, have privately told London they view a UK move to closely emulate existing EU law as essential if there is any hope of completing a trade agreement within a short timeframe.

European governments fear that Britain could use Brexit to sharply deregulate and cut tax rates in an aggressive effort to attract businesses from the continent, and have warned London against the move. In announcing the triggering of Article 50 on Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May signalled she was ready to assuage EU concerns on the issue, saying that any EU trade deal would require a mechanism to ensure “a level playing field” and to stop wholesale regulatory divergence.

Importing EU rules is “an important step in giving businesses, workers and consumers the certainty they need”, Mr Davis said. “It will mean that as we seek a comprehensive new economic partnership with the EU, our allies will know that we start from a position where we have the same standards and rules.”

Secondary legislation is often used to allow ministers to make minor or routine changes to the law.

In the 2005-10 parliament, an average of 1,338 statutory instruments were passed each year, while the 2010-15 parliament had an average of 1,071 a year, according to the Department for Exiting the EU. In total, nearly 8,000 have been approved by parliament.

Mr Davis’s plan faces opposition from peers and some MPs, who are concerned that it amounts to an executive power grab.

In an attempt to soothe concerns, Downing Street said this week that the repeal bill would include a clause to limit the time for which the government can use the “Henry VIII powers” it is seeking.

The bill will also repeal the 1972 European Communities Act which took Britain into the EU, and make provisions for how the accumulated body of European Court of Justice rulings will be interpreted after Brexit.

The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be given the power to make changes to EU laws that they have the responsibility for implementing.

The government has also promised to pass some of the powers it repatriates to the devolved administrations.