Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Afzal Khan and Steve Baker

Thursday 1st February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Baker]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that suggestion. Of course I will meet him and other colleagues to discuss it, but I should add that as this conversation has proceeded, certain misgivings have been expressed about free ports. We must ensure that any free port proposal is capable of giving the country the security that it needs.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

12. What assessment the Government have made of the potential effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill on the protection of fundamental rights.

[Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)]

16. What assessment the Government have made of the potential effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill on the protection of fundamental rights.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr Steve Baker)]

The “Right by Right” memorandum clarifies the way in which human rights will continue to be protected in domestic law after the UK has exited the EU. Under both the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and existing domestic law, all substantive rights reaffirmed in the charter of fundamental rights will continue to be protected after exit. The Government’s assessment is that, in itself, not incorporating the charter in UK law should not affect the substantive rights from which people in the UK already benefit.

[Afzal Khan]

The paper leaked to BuzzFeed reportedly suggests that

“deregulating in areas such as the environment, product standards, and employment law”

could provide an opportunity for the UK. Is that part of the Government’s economic strategy?

[Mr Baker]

The Government have repeated again and again our commitment to ensuring that we improve the environment and leave it in a better condition for the next generation, and our commitments on workers’ rights have also been repeated time and again.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Afzal Khan and Steve Baker

Thursday 14th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

18. What steps he is taking to ensure that rights, entitlements, protections and standards in EU law are maintained in the UK after it leaves the EU.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr Steve Baker)]

The UK has a proud record of protecting rights. The EU (Withdrawal) Bill aims to maximise certainty for individuals and businesses about their legal rights and obligations as we leave the EU, to provide the basis for a smooth and orderly exit. The Bill will ensure that the laws and rules that we have now will so far as possible continue to apply as they did before exit.

[Mr Baker]

There are a great range of rights for which we do not rely on the European Union to meet the standards that we do. However, trade deals are always founded on WTO principles, and the WTO includes a wide range of measures in relation to technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary protections, and other matters.

[Afzal Khan]

The charter of fundamental rights has been a valuable and accessible instrument in protecting human rights. Does the Minister agree with Liberty, Amnesty International and the Public Law Project that

“Banishing the Charter from the UK because we have other legal sources of rights would be like banning hammers because spanners can also strike nails”?

[Mr Baker]

Not incorporating the charter should not affect the substantive rights that individuals already benefit from in the UK, as the charter was never the source of those rights. Those EU fundamental rights are, in any case, applicable only within the scope of EU law. The Government have now published their analysis of the charter, which clearly sets out how each substantive right that was reaffirmed in the charter will be reflected in the domestic law of the UK.