Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to exercise a block opt-out from the 131 pre-Lisbon EU policing and criminal justice laws.

In July 2013, following votes in both Houses of Parliament endorsing the Government’s decision, the Prime Minister formally exercised the opt-out. This decision took effect on 1 December 2014 and on that date the United Kingdom
opted out of more than 100 EU police and criminal justice powers.

On 20 November 2014, following votes in both Houses of Parliament endorsing the Government’s package, the Prime Minister wrote notifying the President of the Council of Ministers of the United Kingdom’s wish to rejoin the 35 vital police
and criminal justice measures set out in Command Paper 8897: Decision pursuant to Article 10(5) of Protocol 36 to The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The EU level Decisions required to give effect to the United
Kingdom’s application to rejoin the measures were adopted in Brussels on 1 December 2014.