‘Seven new Bills needed to cover Brexit issues’
AT LEAST seven new Bills will be required in key areas affected by Brexit, according to leaked Whitehall documents.
Legislation will need to be prepared to cover areas including tax, immigration and agriculture, the papers seen by The Times suggest.
Another six Bills may also need to be passed to cover arrangements for the UK’s future after exiting the EU.
The raft of legislation could provide further opportunities for MPs and peers to shape the terms of Britain’s departure from the bloc, potentially causing disruption within the tight twoyear timetable after Article 50 is triggered.
The Bills would be passed alongside the Great Repeal Bill, which will formally end the EU’s legislative supremacy in the UK.
The seven additional Bills are reportedly designed to cover areas that require such a substantial movement away from the current position that they would not be able to be included within the Great Repeal Bill.
They are said to cover immigration, tax, agriculture, trade and customs regimes, fisheries, data protection and sanctions – although government sources claimed the leaked list was out of date. The additional six Bills would address EU migrant benefits, reciprocal healthcare arrangements, road freight, nuclear safeguards, emissions trading and the transfer of spending from EU funds to UK government departments.
Sources told The Times that Downing Street was concerned about the number of Brexit Bills requested, and is attempting to reduce the amount of legislation.
A government spokesman said: “We do not comment on leaks. We have been clear that we are considering all options to prepare for various potential outcomes of negotiations, as people would expect of a responsible government.”
A report yesterday warned it was “inevitable” that some government departments would need to boost spending to deal with an increased workload after Brexit.
The civil service will require more officials to cope with the preparation for exiting the EU, according to the report by the Institute for Government. It said that it appeared some ministries had been given an indication that spending restrictions could be eased to help them cope with Brexit.