Brexit: Legislating for the United Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European Union

Debate between Lord Blackwell and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Thursday 30th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon]

We have to hear from the noble Baroness on the Conservative Benches.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)]

I understand that my noble friend does not wish to proceed.

[Lord Blackwell]

In connection with the challenge set out in the White Paper of ensuring appropriate parliamentary scrutiny of the EU legislation being translated into UK law, might my noble friend consider the precedent set some years ago by the tax law rewrite committee? As noble Lords may remember, this Joint Committee of both Houses was set up in similar circumstances with the simple purpose of replicating laws without changing them. It had the advantage that laws could be published in draft, others could look at them, and a Joint Committee of both Houses could scrutinise them and ensure, as the remit was set, that the laws were being translated without changing their meaning. That might be an effective way of dealing with the volume of legislation in this situation.