European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Suella Braverman Excerpts

Committee: 7th sitting: House of Commons
Wednesday 13th December 2017 Commons Chamber

The UK helped to found the modern system of international law, and we remain champions of that system across the globe. Our approach to leaving the EU has shown, once again, that we will honour our international obligations. The Government and Parliament have a duty to protect and maintain the UK’s good reputation on the world stage, and ensure that our domestic law complies with the undertakings we have made on the international stage such as those relating to the Council of Europe, whose purpose is to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, and to promote European culture.

[Suella Fernandes (Fareham) (Con)]

I appreciate the Minister’s explanation of the scope of clause 8. Does he agree that, just like clause 7, clause 8 is limited in that it relates only to withdrawal issues and is a sunset clause?

[Mr Walker]

My hon. Friend make a good point on the exact matter that I was going to come to in a moment; she pre-empts me brilliantly.

Clause 8 is needed—I think that this answers the point made by the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich—because not all the UK’s international obligations that might be affected by withdrawing from the EU are implemented domestically in what will be retained EU law. Those which are implemented elsewhere are therefore out of scope of the correcting power in clause 7. In addition, there are restrictions on the use of clause 7 relating to, for example, taxation that might, in some circumstances, prevent important changes to comply with international arrangements from being made. We need this power because we need to be prepared for all eventualities.

I would like to clarify that any SIs made under clause 8 that transfer a legislative function, or create or amend any power to legislate, will be subject to the affirmative procedure, as provided for in clause 7. Therefore, Parliament will be able to debate any transfer of powers, and consider the proposed scope of such powers and the scrutiny proposed for their future exercise. Clause 8 gives Ministers a temporary and limited power, as my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Suella Fernandes) said, to make regulations to prevent or remedy breaches of international obligations. The provision contained in the secondary legislation must be an appropriate way of doing so and will have to pass before this House under the parliamentary procedures that we have been discussing over the past couple of days. In addition to its limited goals, the power is subject to a number of further limitations. It expires two years after exit day and, as listed in subsection (3), it cannot “make retrospective provision”, create certain types of criminal offence,

“implement the withdrawal agreement, or…amend…the Human Rights Act”.