Lords EU exit regulations: 19 March
20 March 2019
On Tuesday 19 March, the House of Lords examined four 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:
- Materials and articles in contact with food
- Genetically modified food and feed
- Animal feed
- Novel food
Novel food is defined by the European Commission as "food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 15 May 1997, when the first Regulation on novel food came into force".
These SIs were considered in Grand Committee, a room outside the Lords chamber. In Grand Committee, any member can take part but no votes can take place.
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- What is a statutory instrument?
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The Brexit SIs under examination on Tuesday 19 March 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.
All these SIs are made under the draft affirmative procedure, meaning they need to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before they can be made (signed into law) and brought into effect. Draft affirmative SIs can be stopped if either House votes against the government's motion calling for the SI to be approved.
Following the debates in Grand Committee, all the SIs under consideration were approved.
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Image: PA