Government to amend sunset provisions in Retained EU Law Bill

Sunset clause to be replaced with a list of retained EU laws to be revoked

The government announced on 10 May in a ministerial statement by Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, its intention to amend drafting of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill that would replace the current sunset clause in the Bill with a list of retained EU laws that it intends to revoke at the end of 2023. Badenoch states that the amendment will provide certainly for businesses by making it clear which regulations will be removed from the statute book. “Over the past year Whitehall departments have been working hard to identify retained EU law to preserve, reform or revoke. However, with the growing volume of REUL being identified, and the risks of legal uncertainty posed by sunsetting instruments made under EU law, it has become clear that the programme was becoming more about reducing legal risk by preserving EU laws than prioritising meaningful reform. That is why today I am proposing a new approach: one that will ensure ministers and officials can focus more on reforming REUL, and doing that faster,” explains Badenoch. Alongside the statement, a regulatory reform update, ‘Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy’, has also been published which details how the government intends to reform regulations to support economic growth.