Lords EU exit regulations: 9 May
10 May 2019
On Thursday 9 May, the House of Lords examined five 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:
1. Effective sanctions regimes in Syria, Russia, Republic of Belarus and Zimbabwe
2. Sanctions aimed at deterring the proliferation and use of chemical weapons
- Catch up on Parliament TV
- Read the Lords Hansard transcript
- Statutory instruments tracker (beta)
- What is a statutory instrument?
- Statutory instruments procedure in the House of Lords
The Brexit SIs under examination on Thursday 9 May 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 as law. 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 on the floor of the House, 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.
Further information
- Attend debates in the chamber
- Follow @ukhouseoflords on Twitter
- Like House of Lords on Facebook
- Watch House of Lords videos on YouTube
- View House of Lords photos on Flickr
- Connect with Lords on the Lords Digital Chamber
Image: Creative Commons