Draft Cessation of EU Law Relating to Prohibitions on Grounds of Nationality and Free Movement of Persons Regulations 2022

Karen Buck Excerpts

Wednesday 16th November 2022 General Committees

[Ms Karen Buck (Westminster North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I am grateful to the Minister for setting out an explanation of the regulations. I do not intend to detain the Committee long, but I have a few questions. Regulation 3, “Cessation of free movement of persons”, refers to rights and powers that

“continue by virtue of section 4(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018; and…are derived (directly or indirectly) from”

the relevant articles of the treaties and agreements. The phrase “directly or indirectly” does not occur in regulation 2, “Cessation of prohibitions on grounds of nationality”, which states merely that prohibitions “are derived from” the relevant provisions of the treaties and agreements. Can the Minister clarify why there is that difference in wording? Does it have any meaning, and what is the scope of “indirectly” derived rights, powers and so on?

The schedule goes into some detail on most of the matters relevant to the regulations, but for housing it offers little detail, other than mobile homes being included, but not railway carriages or tents. Can the Minister tell us why the schedule does not detail the relevant matters for housing, and what sorts of rights and powers are envisaged under that heading? What effect will the regulations have on housing rights, and on protections for EEA citizens who arrived after the transition period ended?

I understand—the Minister can correct me if I am wrong—that the intention of the regulations is to end the grounding of entitlements and rights in the treaty, and in the agreement’s provisions on freedom of movement and equal treatment. That makes sense, but a number of the “relevant matters” refer to rights and entitlements that we might expect to apply to all people, without any nationality conditions, once they have a right to live or work here, such as the right to statutory sick pay or the entitlement to child care vouchers. I assume that in many cases, the grounding may have changed, but the rights remain the same. For the avoidance of doubt, can the Minister confirm that it is not the intention that all the rights listed under “relevant matters” will cease to apply to EEA citizens who arrive after the transition period?