Opposition leaders in the Lords to be questioned on delegated powers and the Great Repeal Bill
The House of Lords Constitution Committee will this week take evidence from Baroness Smith of Basildon, Shadow Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Newby, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, House of Lords. The Committee will examine how Parliament delegates powers to the Government, and consider the use of delegated powers in the context of Great Repeal Bill.
The Committee will take evidence from 10:30am on Wednesday 8 February in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords.
Questions the Committee will put to the witnesses include:
- What will be the main challenges faced by Parliament in scrutinising the Great Repeal Bill?
- How might Parliament mitigate the constitutional risks that will arise if the UK Government seek wide-ranging Henry VIII powers to effect the conversion of EU law to UK law in the Great Repeal Bill?
- Is the Government leaving too much policy implementation to be effected through secondary, rather than primary, legislation?
- To what extent do political parties carry out their own evaluation of the delegated powers in bills, and to what degree do they rely on the work of select committees such as the DPRRC?
- The House of Lords has historically been more assertive in the legislative process in relation to issues relating to the constitution and the rights of citizens—do delegated powers, which affect the balance of power between Parliament and the Government, fall into this category?
