Exiting the European Union (European Union)

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I am sure that the Minister is wrong and that all eyes are on us and not on the Prime Minister’s press conference. I congratulate her for her introduction of this most exciting of the statutory instruments we are looking at over the current period. We are broadly supportive of this instrument, as it largely clears up the statute book and serves to ensure that cross-references to EU law in domestic law or in other EU law, which continues as retained EU law, make sense after the completion day from the implementation or transition period.

The repeals relate mostly to references to the European Communities Act 1972, which has already been repealed by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, so it is further legislative tidying up and not the last that we can expect to see in the coming months. This continues the Government’s habit of amending primary legislation by statutory instrument, and in this case, certain provisions of the Interpretation Act 1978 will be directly amended by this instrument. It also amends parts of the 2018 Act.

I cannot help but note that the accompanying explanatory memorandum is longer than the legislation itself, and I wonder if the Minister can tell the House whether that implies a certain nervousness in the Department about publishing yet further changes to the withdrawal Act, this close to the end of the transition period. Within the explanatory memorandum, there is much emphasis on the fact that none of these changes is substantive and that the Government are not trying to sneak something through under the radar—indeed, the Minister herself made that point. Is that perhaps a result of the rather chastening experience that the Government have had when they have tried to sneak things—such as, for example, the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill—through under the radar?

We have concerns about legal certainty going forward and the fact that the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 has already had to be amended on several occasions. We warned about that when the Act was debated, and it serves to demonstrate the massive task that faces practitioners and judges when working out what law will be in force from 1 January 2021. That points to some incompetence and poor planning from the Government. How many more times will they need to amend the Act that they pressed through the House? How many more times will businesses and lawyers have to make a plan, scrap it and start again?

Although in principle, the withdrawal Act sets a basic rule that existing EU law will be retained, it is clear from the many subsequent changes to that Act, the enactment of other Acts such as the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, and the huge number of statutory instruments that have been tabled, that recourse to a wide range of statutory materials will often be needed to work out exactly what the governing provisions are.

I am told that jigsaw puzzles have been popular during lockdown, but the Government are creating a particularly challenging legal jigsaw puzzle in which the picture on the front of the box is constantly changing. Nevertheless, the outcome is crucial, because it underpins UK law. Although legal practitioners face a daunting task, they will at least have the resources to check for amendments. Again, as is so often the way, those without support and financial resources are the most vulnerable, and that includes litigants in person, or members of the public who want to know which law governs a particular situation. In some areas, that is becoming a near-impossible task, with extremely expert lawyers and judges harbouring concerns about the state of legal affairs from 1 January and the uncertainties that they envisage will arise.

At the same time as creating those challenges for the legal system, the Government’s failure to negotiate effectively on behalf of the services sector in the current talks on our future relationship with the EU is creating other challenges. By not securing mutual recognition of qualifications and—specifically for the legal sector—certainty regarding accession to the Lugano convention, there are real questions about the ability of UK lawyers to continue working across Europe with certainty and a lack of confidence in their ability to continue in their business.

Of course, this is not just about lawyers, litigants in person, or interested citizens; this is about businesses and jobs that need legal advice to draw up contracts and ensure that they comply with the seemingly ever-changing law. That costs money, time and resources, and while the economy is under such pressure from the fallout of the pandemic, I urge the Government not to add to that.

Will the Minister tell the House when the Government will have finished amending the legal framework for our departure from the European Union and say how we are to work with our European partners moving forward? Clarity is essential, and the Government have a responsibility to provide it.