Seasonal clock changes: Lords to hold first evidence session
On Thursday 5 September the House of Lords EU Internal Market Sub-Committee will hold its first evidence session on the European Commission's proposal to end seasonal changes of time in the EU, and what this proposal will mean for the UK in the context of Brexit.
The session will focus on awareness of the proposal with the UK public and the Government's response to the proposal, implications for Northern Ireland, and input from the UK's devolved administrations among other issues.
Giving evidence to the Committee at 10.30am, in Committee Room 4, will be:
- Dr Katy Hayward, Senior Fellow, The UK in a Changing Europe
- Dr Heather Rolfe, Head of Research, Demos
- Mr Pieter Cleppe, Head of Brussels Office, Open Europe
Questions are likely to include:
- How aware do you think the UK public is of the proposal?
- What is your assessment of the UK Government's engagement with the proposal so far?
- If the proposal does become EU law, the UK may be faced with the choice of maintaining seasonal changes of time or abolishing them in line with its EU neighbours. What factors would need to be considered in making this choice?
- Do the reactions to the proposal from non-EU countries with EU neighbours, such as Switzerland and Norway, offer any lessons for the UK?
- If the UK decided to maintain summertime arrangements while the EU did not, Northern Ireland would be faced with a choice between having a one-hour time difference for half the year either with the Republic of Ireland or with the rest of the UK. What would be the implications of these two scenarios?
- If the UK is required by EU law to discontinue seasonal time changes, or decides to do so, how should the Government approach the choice between permanent winter and summer time?
