Lords EU exit regulations: 25 February

On Monday 25 February, the House of Lords examined ten statutory instruments preparing for Brexit.

A statutory instrument (SI), a type of secondary legislation, is a law created under powers given by an Act of Parliament. It is used to fill in the details of Acts (primary legislation).

The proposed SIs make changes to laws on:

Civil procedures
Rules of the Northern Ireland Court of Judicature
Securities, investment exchanges and clearing houses
Aviation security and air traffic management
Maritime transport and trade

The Brexit SIs under examination on Monday 25 February were all made under the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and are changes to the law to be made in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.

Full list of SIs being examined

All these SIs were made under the draft affirmative procedure, meaning they needed to be approved by Parliament before they could be made (signed into law) and brought into effect as law. Draft affirmative SIs can be stopped if either House votes against the government's motion calling for the SI to be approved.

Motion against the regulations

Prior to the debate, Lord Adonis (Labour) proposed a motion to decline the approval on the regulations regarding Maritime Transport and Trade.

Lord Adonis became unavailable to speak during the debate on 25 February and so the motion was removed.

If this motion had been agreed to, it would have stopped the regulations from passing on the grounds they were not subject to a public consultation.

Following the debates in the House of Lords, all the SIs under consideration were approved.

Lords scrutiny

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) examines every SI, including all EU Exit SIs. It publishes reports drawing members' attention to SIs.