Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Debate

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Department: Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Lord Benyon Portrait Lord Benyon (Con)
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I will certainly do so; I will then be able to read my own writing. As the Secretary of State reiterated in her speech at the launch of the environmental improvement plan on 31 January, Defra’s default approach will be to retain EU law unless there is a good reason either to repeal it or to reform it. This allows us to keep protections in place, provide certainty to businesses and stakeholders and make reforms tailored to our needs—

Baroness Crawley Portrait Baroness Crawley (Lab)
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Is the noble Lord confident that he can ensure that he will be able to retain all the laws that he wants to by 31 December this year?

Lord Benyon Portrait Lord Benyon (Con)
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Absolutely, because if we cannot do so for any reason then we have that power of extension, which we will apply if necessary. I hope that is a real reassurance to noble Lords, because it gives that comfort.

Baroness Crawley Portrait Baroness Crawley (Lab)
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Will the noble Lord therefore lobby within his department for using the 2026 date rather than 31 December 2023?