Draft Hazardous Substances and packaging (Legislative Functions and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 DRAFT OZONE-DEPLETING SUBSTANCES AND FLUORINATED GREENHOUSE GASES (AMENDMENT ETC.) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS 2020

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 18th November 2020 General Committees

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Hollobone, and I start by wishing you a belated happy birthday. I welcome the hon. Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, and congratulate him on his promotion to Minister, if only for today.

It is good to be with colleagues this afternoon and to have the chance, once again, to scrutinise and unpick more delegated legislation from the Government. I have to say that the way things are happening now, it is beginning to feel like this is Government by statutory instrument and, although I have only been a member of this House for 18 months, I know that is not how things should be done.

We have two SIs before us and I shall speak to each in turn. First, the Hazardous Substances and Packaging (Legislative Functions and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 refer to legislative functions that are currently held and carried out by the European Union on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. The instrument seeks to transfer the functions currently exercised in Europe to the Secretary of State, in relation to England and Wales, and to Scotland, after the end of the transition period following our departure from the European Union, which, as you know, Mr Hollobone, is on 31 December 2020—or, to put it another way, in 44 days’ time.

Her Majesty’s Opposition will not seek a Division on the regulations; I know hon. Members will be disappointed to hear that. I just wish we were not discussing this important transfer of powers on 18 November 2020, to be ready for 44 days’ time, but we have to do so, because we need to be ready for what comes next. We need to ensure that all the necessary steps are taken for what life will be like on 1 January next year and beyond.

For those hon. Members who have listened to me speak in Delegated Legislation Committees before, it will be no surprise that I am going to raise concerns about impact assessments, the language used in them and the language more generally. This statutory instrument makes an important transfer of powers, and the importance of those powers means that I am very concerned about the wording of the explanatory memorandum. I refer hon. Members to paragraph 12 of the explanatory memorandum. The first sentence of 12.1 says,

“there will be an impact on business”.

Paragraph 12.3 then says,

“an Impact Assessment has not been prepared for this instrument because no significant impact on business, charities or voluntary bodies is foreseen”.

I would be grateful if the hon. Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis squared this circle for us—and for the people who will be affected by the transfer of these powers. There is an impact on business, but there is no impact assessment because no impact is foreseen. Perhaps he could clarify that when he sums up.

I know that Ministers across Whitehall are stretched, and I pay tribute to all the hard-working civil servants in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and across Government, but this simply is not good enough from Ministers. For many Opposition Members, it seems odd to identify a difference between “no impact” and “no significant impact”. We need clarity and coherence on this, please, this afternoon.

I have two specific questions for the hon. Gentleman. First, I want him to confirm that the power to amend the list of substances will not be used to weaken environmental protection. This is vital for us as a country and for how we tackle the climate emergency that people across—and outside—the House want us to tackle now.

Secondly, I note that the Department’s response states that it is “the Government’s intention” to carry out a general public consultation; we all know about good intentions, but they are different from delivering real results. Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that a public consultation—including seeking the views of environmental groups—will be carried out when the list of substances is amended? When will it start, and how long will it last? That is vital and we all need answers.

The second statutory instrument, the draft Ozone-Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, deals with a specific policy area that is one of the international obligation exemptions to the Government’s unfettered market access policy. There will be two separate systems in Great Britain and Northern Ireland that require the introduction of controls and checks on the movement of certain gases, substances and equipment across the Irish sea between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. With the potential practical impact on trade between NI and GB, these are issues that I suspect the House will consider with greater urgency in the coming weeks.

Her Majesty’s Opposition will not seek to divide the Committee on this SI either because we are recognise its technical nature and, most important, we are keenly focused on the integrity of the Union and on doing right by the people of Northern Ireland.

The regulations show once again how much we need to get done in the next 43 days. The Opposition are prepared to play our part in ensuring that this country—and by that, I mean Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland—is ready for what happens next. We will hold Ministers to account every single day from now until 31 December and beyond.