Policy Briefing – Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill

Over the past year much speculation has been floating around about the actual implications of the Bill. Whilst the impact of the Bill will be felt mostly in sectors outside of the scope of the built environment, we hold several concerns relating to the potential scrapping of crucial employment, health & safety and environmental law without suitable alternatives in place. Furthermore, we cover the Bill’s journey to date and how it will change the landscape of Retained EU Law.

CIOB has produced a briefing (accessible below) to inform members and the wider built environment community of the details, and potential implications, of the proposed Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill which was introduced as draft legislation in Parliament on 22 September 2022.

-Update- In April 2023 rumours emerged that the Government plans to backtrack on a number of key areas within the Bill. The Bill, due to enter its report stage in April, has now been removed from the parliamentary agenda and early reports suggest that this is because the Government now shares concerns over the initial timetable set out for sunsetting some 4,000 pieces of retained EU Law. Instead, a new approach is being suggested where the Government will focus on producing a list of the laws to be repealed with any that remain staying on the statute book indefinitely. Initial suggestions hint that the current list contains around 800 laws to be reviewed. It is unclear what will happen to these 800 retained laws, but we will be sure to update this briefing after any further updates.  

-Update- On 29 June 2023 the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill was passed into law becoming the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.