Is the Government’s REUL reform programme ambitious enough? MPs to question legal experts
On Wednesday 21 February, the European Scrutiny Committee will hold a further evidence session in its inquiry on reform of Retained EU Law.
The Committee will hear evidence from experts in European law from the University of Cambridge and Bingham Centre for the Rule Law, as well as a King’s Counsel barrister.
Meeting details
Since November 2023, the Committee has been conducting an inquiry into the progress and ‘mechanics’ of retained EU law reform, considering the Government’s progress and approach.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (the “REUL Act”) came onto the UK statute book in June 2023. From 1 January 2024, any REUL which had not been revoked by the end of 2023 became “assimilated law”.
In January 2024, the Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee, Sir William Cash, criticised the Government’s approach to REUL reform in a letter to Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch. He said the Government was not devoting enough time and resource to reform, and that this would “be viewed as an entirely avoidable failure by colleagues, and the people and businesses we serve.”
MPs may ask the witnesses whether REUL reform so far represents the “ambitious programme” the Government has proposed, and whether the programme has focused more on “technical” or “substantive” changes.