Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has been made of the potential use of the civil service working expression out of scope as a reference search mechanism for identifying EU-sourced red tape that was formerly listed as out of bounds for review but may now be open to deregulatory review or repeal.

Following the retained EU law (REUL) substance review and published dashboard, there is an ongoing cross-Whitehall exercise to identify how to reform REUL. Where REUL contains a regulation that directly impacts business, we provisionally expect it to contribute to the REUL target.

Before the sunset date, government departments and the devolved administrations will determine which REUL can be reformed to benefit the UK, which can expire, and which should be preserved in domestic law as assimilated law. They will also decide if some REUL should be codified, in order to preserve specific policy effects which are beneficial to keep.