European Union (Withdrawal) Acts

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Saturday 19th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Lady for her point of order. I say to her publicly what I said to her privately, which is that I am sorry that, on account of constraints of time and a desire to bring matters to a conclusion, I was not able to call her today in the debate, but she has at least had a mini speech in the form of her point of order. I know that no power on earth would or should stop her contributing frequently on future occasions. I certainly look forward to that.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Is there any power that you have to enable this House and the public to properly understand what the Prime Minister has just said to us? According to the law passed by this House, if a deal or no deal is not agreed, the Prime Minister is required to send a letter under the Benn Act today, 19 October. It may be my misunderstanding, Mr Speaker, but I have no idea, from what the Prime Minister said, whether he is actually going to write and sign that letter, or whether he is not going to do that. If he is not going to do it, that means he is not complying with the law that has been passed by the House of Commons. Any of our constituents who do not comply with the law face the consequences. Is there anything we can do to properly understand whether the Prime Minister intends to comply with the legislation and send the letter, or whether he is simply going to ignore it?

[Mr Speaker]

I am not a lawyer—I say that as a matter of some very considerable pride—but my understanding is that the legal position is clear. I do not dissent from what the hon. Gentleman has just said about the legal position. Ministers have made—I say this quite neutrally—a number of statements about adherence to, or compliance with, the so-called Benn Act. Those statements have not always been immediately and obviously compatible with each other. I think we have to await the development of events. In general terms, it is of course true to say that Ministers have emphasised their commitment to observe the law, including the Prime Minister, who has said that on a number of occasions. It is also true that the Prime Minister has indicated that he is not willing to seek an extension.

My understanding of the legal position is the same as that of the hon. Gentleman. We must await the development of events. The hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry), from the SNP, raised a similar concern about this matter, which has now been echoed by the hon. Gentleman. Further enlightenment may follow when the Leader of the House uncoils and addresses us from the Dispatch Box—I do not know. I am not psychic; we shall see.

I think that matters are coming to a conclusion today, but the House will sit on Monday and I confidently anticipate that the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) will be in his place and ready to leap to his feet with alacrity to advance his point of view and that of others. [Interruption.] The Comptroller of Her Majesty’s Household, the hon. Member for Horsham (Jeremy Quin), is shaking his head in a mildly eccentric manner. [Interruption.] Not at me—indeed. We are deeply grateful. I was not looking to call him, but if he particularly wanted to raise a point of order, especially as he used to be my constituent, far be it from me to deny him. [Interruption.] He says “Not today”—okay, fair enough.

Compliance with the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Thursday 26th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[James Duddridge]

I must say that I did not quite keep up with all those Alice in Wonderland references, but I am more than happy to discuss this matter over a cup of tea, as long as the hon. Lady and I are not considered two Mad Hatters.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

I think many of us feel that the Minister has prevaricated with his answers today, so may I just ask him again what my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) asked him earlier from the Front Bench? To comply with the law, the Prime Minister is required to send a letter should a deal or a no deal not be agreed by Parliament. The schedule to the Act actually includes the letter; it is part of the law. That letter starts, “Dear Mr President” and finishes, “Yours sincerely, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom”. How on earth can the Minister stand there and say that the Prime Minister can comply with the law without reassuring Parliament from the Dispatch Box that the Prime Minister would sign the letter as set out in the schedule to the Act in the circumstances that the two conditions laid out in the Act are not met?

[James Duddridge]

I have consistently said that the Prime Minister will obey the law, but we do not want to get to that position; we want to get to a deal position as early as possible, and that is what we are trying to do. That is what we were mandated to do by the British people in the referendum, and it is what previous laws have instructed us to do.

No-deal EU Exit Preparations

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

My hon. Friend rightly raises concerns for her constituents. Extensive work to prepare for a no-deal scenario has been under way across Government for two years and we are taking steps to ensure that the border continues to operate as effectively as possible from the day we leave. We have three objectives for the UK border to be delivered on day one and beyond: maintaining security; facilitating the flow of goods and people; and revenue protection. We will prioritise flow at the border, which means any increase in the number of checks will be kept to a minimum by conducting only essential checks, which will help to reduce friction at locations like Kent.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

I know we have got the TV adverts today, but what official advice are the Government giving to families across the country as to what they should do to prepare for or cope with this country exiting the EU without a deal?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

It does rather depend on what aspect of people’s lives will be affected, so there is a huge range of information both online and now available in advertising as well, where people will be able to see what will happen in circumstances such as if they were concerned about taking their pets abroad or about their holiday. That is all available online.

Draft Challenges to Validity of EU Instruments (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2019 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Chris Heaton-Harris)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Challenges to Validity of EU Instruments (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies; I believe this is a first for me as a Minister. I am slightly reticent as to any rulings that you might make. We have interesting times when people are in the Chair in this place at the moment.

The draft instrument is now the third that I have had the pleasure of debating under the affirmative procedure. A motion to consider the same regulations was passed in the other place just last week. The draft regulations are part of the Government’s wider programme of secondary legislation to ensure that the UK’s legal system continues to function effectively when we leave the European Union. They will take effect on exit day, or, if an implementation period is agreed, at the end of that period.

The overall intention behind the draft regulations is to make sure that validity challenges that originate in our domestic courts before exit can continue to be heard after exit. They will do that by making provision for UK judges to have jurisdiction to hear those cases. At present, they do not have that jurisdiction; only Court of Justice of the European Union judges have the right to deliver judgments on validity. Questions of validity arising in domestic courts must be referred to the CJEU for judgment.

The draft regulations mean that domestic judges will not be dependent on the judgments of CJEU judges to make rulings in domestic cases. Domestic judges will be empowered to make rulings independently of the CJEU, using the same grounds as are currently set out in article 263 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union: a lack of competence; infringement of essential procedural requirements; infringement of the treaties or of any rule of law relating to their application; or a misuse of powers. I bring to Members’ attention that the number of validity challenge cases referred by UK courts to the CJEU is extremely small. Over the last five years, only 12 cases have been referred by the UK courts, and only one has been partially successful.

As I mentioned, the intention behind the draft regulations is to ensure that access to justice is not restricted after exit. Without the draft regulations, the effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 would be that pending cases for which references have already been submitted to the CJEU would not be able to continue. Indeed, whether the CJEU will continue to rule on validity cases submitted by the United Kingdom remains uncertain. The draft regulations will make sure that these pending cases can continue. At the last count, there were only three such cases.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

It would be interesting for the Committee to know what those three cases are. Will the Minister go on to them?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

I will happily go on to those cases. They are three basic tax cases: C-182/19, brought by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, concerning the tax classification of certain therapeutic bandages; C-677/18, brought by Amoena, concerning a tax classification for accessories for artificial body parts—actually, mastectomy bras; and C-612/16, brought by C & J Clark International, concerning the anti-dumping duty and the import of certain leather footwear originating in the People’s Republic of China and in Vietnam. That last one was actually nearly a constituency case of mine. I hope that that helps the hon. Gentleman.

As I said, the intention behind the draft regulations is to ensure that access to justice is not restricted after exit. Without the draft regulations, the effect of the EU withdrawal Act would be that pending cases for which references have already been submitted to the CJEU could not continue. I have said that it remains uncertain whether the CJEU will continue to rule on validity cases submitted by the United Kingdom.

The regulations also cover cases where a domestic court has not yet made a reference to the CJEU but was planning to do so, and any case, other than cases begun before exit, in which a validity challenge may arise. That means that where claimants have brought a case before exit day that hinges on the validity of an EU law, there will be a mechanism in place to ensure that rulings on validity can be provided domestically. The regulations provide that where domestic judges find that an EU law was made invalidly, they will have the jurisdiction to declare it void. The effect of a declaration of invalidity will be that the law is not valid for the purposes of migrating to the UK statute book—in effect, there was never a retained EU law version of it.

I highlight to hon. Members the fact that my Department has worked closely with the Ministry of Justice in developing these regulations. In particular, officials from my Department have worked with judicial policy officials to ensure that both judges and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service are aware of these changes and can manage any change in workload accordingly. Given the historical number of cases that I referred to earlier, my officials expect there to be a very limited number of potential cases aside from the three currently pending, which I have just talked about.

There are two final elements to the regulations that I would like to touch on. Regulation 5 stipulates that the courts must give the appropriate UK authorities notification of their intention to declare an EU law void, and regulation 6 stipulates that any UK authorities have the right to be joined as a party to any proceedings in which these regulations apply. In these regulations, “the relevant UK authorities” is defined as

“a Minister of the Crown (or a person nominated by him), the Scottish Ministers, a Northern Ireland department, and the Welsh Ministers”.

The effect of regulation 5, therefore, is that UK Government Ministers and all the devolved Administrations must be informed when a court is planning to issue a declaration of invalidity.

That particular requirement of the regulations was suggested by the Scottish Government following consultation with them on our proposals. Although the laying of this statutory instrument did not require formal consent from the devolved Administrations, my officials and I were keen to ensure that they were given ample opportunity to provide their views. As I said, as a direct result of this engagement we considered it appropriate that all the devolved Administrations, not just the Scottish Government, be given the right to be notified and be joined as a party to a legal case, given that EU law can directly relate to their respective devolved legal competences.

I have of course thanked the devolved Administrations for their extremely helpful input and received letters from both the Welsh and Scottish Ministers responsible for EU exit, testifying that they are content with these regulations. I would be more than happy to elaborate on any aspect of the regulation that the Committee might find useful. I hope that all members of the Committee will agree that the draft regulations are necessary and important to ensure that courts in the UK can continue to administer justice effectively once we leave the European Union.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vernon Coaker]

I think I agree with the hon. Gentleman regarding the questions that he has just asked.

I will say this again, and I say it in every SI Committee that I am on: there are numerous SIs that pass into law that have huge implications and people come to our surgeries and say, “When did this happen?” It usually turns out that it was under some SI, rather than a piece of legislation discussed in the main Chamber.

I am not a lawyer, but I will pick up on one or two things that the hon. Member for South Norfolk asked about. The Minister may say, “I have already answered this”, but for the benefit of those who might read these proceedings and non-lawyers, it would be helpful for us to understand better.

I take the point that the Minister made, when he very helpfully read out the court case numbers, which I failed to write down; I did write down the topics. But this is the point: those cases will be dealt with, because they have already begun. I understand that, because these cases were already entered into by the courts beforehand, so there will be an opportunity for our courts to make a judgment on them after exit day—should that happen.

I have no idea what challenges there are around therapeutic bandages or artificial body parts or anti-dumping duties on footwear from China, but I would hesitate to say that these issues are irrelevant or of no consequence, partly because in numerous SI Committees seemingly impenetrable things happen and impenetrable regulations are passed, and then sooner or later somebody comes to one of our surgeries and says, “You’ll never guess what: I have a footwear business and I do a lot of trade with China, and something has happened so that it’s been declared invalid and I can’t now do it.” I have no idea. I am not saying it is wrong or right; I just do not know.

However, I have a couple of questions and it would be helpful if the Minister could answer them. I ask the Minister’s pardon if this is obvious, but it is not obvious to me: is this a no-deal SI, or is it just an SI that is passed whatever the consequence or outcome, whether we leave with a deal or no deal? Is this in lieu of a no-deal Brexit?

Normally, under our constitution, the courts can interpret the law, but as I understand it this measure will allow the courts to strike a law down. So what part of our constitution is the Minister saying allows us to strike down a law? Can he more properly explain the operation of retained European law after exit? I thought it was just, “This is the law, these are the laws we don’t want, these are the laws we do want, so they become part of our law—full stop.” Now, if I am not a lawyer, somebody needs to explain what “retained” means, because what I have just said is what I would have assumed it meant.

[Mr Bacon]

That is my understanding as well—that retained EU law simply becomes part of domestic law. My questions to the Minister were around the case of something that—in these terms and for these purposes now, after exit day—would no longer be termed in retained EU law but simply for these purposes domestic law, and whether, as this purports to suggest, it would oust the ability of an applicant to get a court to entertain whether this was in breach, or whether the powers that the Minister was using, or purporting to use, under that—for these purposes—domestic law were wrong and invalid, and the Minister was acting inappropriately.

[Vernon Coaker]

I agree with that. It is very well put and is a question for the Minister to answer, because it goes to the heart of what we are asking.

My final point in this brief contribution is important. What happens if the CJEU—I need to be careful here or I will confuse myself—finds a pre-exit provision of EU law to be invalid? It will cease to be EU law, but will it continue here? The CJEU will have found an existing piece of EU law, which, presumably, we have retained, invalid, so it will not operate in the rest of Europe, but, because it is retained, we will not have the opportunity—or will we?—to strike it down. Or will it simply continue here, even though it has been struck down in the rest of the EU, if the Minister understands me?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

indicated assent.

[Vernon Coaker]

I think that is a really important question. On this invalidity in one part of the EU versus validity, the Committee, and certainly the people who read our proceedings, would find it helpful if the Minister explained that in non-legalistic terms so that people like me, if not anybody else, could more properly understand it.

Nobody has ever discussed this with me, and I have no idea whether anybody will, but I just know that, even though there are only three or four or maybe five or six cases, if a case turns up in one of our constituencies it becomes a very big deal. I do not want to be in a position—neither does anybody on the Committee—where somebody says, “Did nobody ask what this meant in terms of validity of EU law and retained law, or who could strike it down, or what the role of our courts was?” The Minister remarked on this, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central from our Front Bench, but a couple of answers to the questions posed by the hon. Member for South Norfolk and me would be helpful to our deliberations.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018: Statutory Obligations on Ministers

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Tuesday 11th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am most grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his inquiry, which suffers from the rather notable disadvantage that the Leader of the Opposition has no responsibility for the formulation of policy or for the continent-wide attempts to secure an agreement. Therefore I emphasise, on advice, that there is no responsibility on the Minister to attempt to answer what was no doubt a well-meaning, but, in practical terms, disorderly question.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

Will the Minister confirm once again for the benefit of this House and for the people in the country who will read his remarks and listen to what he has said that there are absolutely no circumstances—no legal interpretation, no scenario that may crop up over the next few days or weeks—that will deny this Parliament the opportunity to vote on whatever the Government come back with? I say to the Minister that, as he has heard from Members across the House, trust in the Government is such that he has a lot of work to do to make people believe him.

[Mr Walker]

I am very happy to say that the short summary of my statement is that there will be a meaningful vote. There will be a meaningful vote in all circumstances, so I am happy to give the hon. Gentleman that assurance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

My hon. Friend is right about the advantages of ensuring frictionless trade between the UK and the EU, and that is the Government’s policy.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

Would not this Parliament, and the entire island of Ireland, be reassured by what the Minister is saying about a border if the Government had allowed more time for Members of the House to discuss these hugely serious issues? What will the Government do about that, and will the Minister discuss with his Cabinet colleagues how we discuss these issues in Parliament, rather than listening to the waffle of the Minister?

[Mr Walker]

I seem to remember spending quite a lot of time discussing that issue in Committee, including being harangued by the hon. Gentleman to ensure that the Bill contained a specific reference to the Belfast agreement. Thanks to the changes we have made, and the acceptance of Lords amendment 25, there is now that specific reference, which I am sure he will welcome.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Suella Fernandes]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The report to which he refers is an interesting document, but it does not go as far as the commitment made by the United Kingdom. Our unwavering commitment is to not introduce any physical infrastructure at the border. We have explicitly ruled that out. The report is interesting, but it does not go all the way.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

May I make a plea to the Minister to recognise that this is about much more than just the movement of goods or services? This is about a cultural issue and the movement of people—it is about all of that. The symbolism is enormous and the Minister needs to ensure that that is recognised, time after time in all the talks she has, to reassure the people of both parts of Ireland.

[Suella Fernandes]

The common travel agreement is absolutely fundamental to any future arrangement, ensuring and enabling the free flow of people across the border. It is vital that that forms part of any future arrangement.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Committee: 5th sitting: House of Commons
Wednesday 6th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

Let me make it clear to the hon. Gentleman that no one who supports the Bill will vote against any principles in the Belfast agreement. It is absolutely clear that the Belfast agreement is protected and is something that we intend absolutely to continue to deliver on. We cannot accept an amendment that, in this case, would create doubt about the protection of the Northern Ireland Act. We need to ensure that through this process we create continuity and certainty. I again urge the hon. Member for North Down not to press the new clause, because our commitment is absolute. We will meet that commitment to the Belfast agreement. If she does press the new clause to a vote, that could create the wrong impression for some people outside the House.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

In all honesty, no one in the House who has ever been a Minister or has had any responsibility at all understands what the Minister is talking about. Minister after Minister has accepted amendments with which they agreed, then asked their draftsmen to sort out any technical issues. Instead of doing the sensible thing and doing that, the Minister and Government Whips—if, as I hope, the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon) pushes the new clause to a vote—will ask their MPs to vote against the principles of the Good Friday agreement. That is how it will be seen by people who look at votes in the House.

European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Lord Coaker Excerpts

Committee: 2nd sitting: House of Commons
Tuesday 7th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Keir Starmer]

I am grateful for the intervention by the hon. and learned Lady. It would be helpful if we had both clarification and, if possible, a written form of the concession that has been made so that we can all see what it is.

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Ms Engel. Given that, as the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) said, we require some sort of information as to what the Government are putting forward, is there any way in which you can require the Government to put before us a manuscript amendment so that we actually know what we are debating for the rest of the afternoon?

[The Second Deputy Chairman]

The Minister will be speaking later, and I am sure that he will explain then.

European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Lord Coaker Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 1st February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Vernon Coaker (Gedling) (Lab)]

I campaigned for and voted to remain, but I will respect the result of the referendum and vote in favour of the Bill. However, like many of my colleagues, that does not mean that I am voting to give the Government a free ride to pursue a right-wing hard Brexit. It is our responsibility to show how divisions can be healed. We need to speak not only of process but about what sort of country we want the UK to be and how we can build new relationships with Europe and countries around the world. We must watch and scrutinise. It is not about whether the UK is leaving the EU, but how.

For so many people in my area, the referendum was an emphatic shout of “Enough!” from those who felt left behind by globalisation—people who have had enough of being economically, politically and socially excluded. They feel powerless and excluded, with nobody listening to them on issues such as immigration. The referendum was an opportunity for many of them to take decisive action in the hope of bringing about change. We must now listen to that demand for change and act. The change must begin by ending the characterisation of some leave voters as people who did not know what they were doing. That serves only to deepen the chasm running through the UK today. We need to take time to understand the pain and anger of those people.

What we also must do is hear the legitimate concerns of the 48% of people who voted remain. We should not just brush them off as remoaners who are attempting to frustrate the will of the people. Rhetoric is powerful and can be incredibly divisive. We are one country, and the stark divisions of the referendum must be allowed to heal. That should start with a common narrative from the Government that the Brexit negotiations will strive to get the best deal for everyone, not just for those who voted leave. That is why the amendment process is so crucial—the amendments set out a vision, which we, the Labour party, and many others want to see. The whole process is about looking to the future, not the past, which is why we now have to work to find a way through the process.

After we have left the EU, globalisation will not cease to exist, nor will the refugee crisis, the problems with immigration, the threat of terrorism, the lack of funding for the health service and education, and the pervasive inequality that exists in the UK. Brexit must seek to address those issues in a liberal, open and inclusive way—a way that insists on a plan that supports jobs and the economy, tackles inequality and is based on building a new consensus here in Britain on immigration. It must include the protection of workers’ rights and guarantee legal rights for EU nationals living in Britain. That plan must be progressive and united by our common principles of respect, tolerance and open-mindedness. In that way, hope can overcome despair, and a brighter, fairer future for all will seem possible, even if we are no longer part of the EU.