The Government is considering downgrading planned legislation to replace a raft of 2,400 retained EU laws proposed by former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The laws cover everything from holiday pay rights to environmental protections and aircraft safety.
The Government Bill would automatically sunset EU regulations at the end of December 2023, requiring Government departments to review, replace or repeal retained EU law.
2,400 laws to be reviewed
A Government website outlines the scope of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 (the Bill), but critics say the timetable of reviewing 2,400 laws in little more than a year is unrealistic.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been told it would take 400 staff in the business department alone to review 300 pieces of legislation that resulted from directives, decisions and EU rules over the past 50 years, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Hundreds of staff to review laws
The report says a further 570 laws would have to be reviewed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Transport officials would have to review 424 laws.
The Treasury says it would have to divert staff to review 374 laws while dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.
Officials in HM Revenue and Customs would have to review 228 laws and those in the Department for Work and Pensions would need to review 208.
Sunset clauses are included in legislation when it is felt that Parliament should have the chance to decide on its merits again after a fixed period.
Many of the EU laws retained post-Brexit were part of the withdrawal agreement, which saw legislation duplicated into the UK’s statute books.
What are the benefits?
The Government believes the Bill will enable the UK “to remove years of burdensome EU regulation in favour of a more agile, home-grown regulatory approach that benefits people and businesses across the UK”.
It is estimated that around £1 billion worth of red tape could be eliminated by removing retained EU laws and regulations.
Despite these proposed changes, the Bill will maintain all commitments to the international obligations required of the UK.
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