I begin by thanking Members across the Chamber for their participation on Second Reading. I want to allow for thorough debate of the Bill in Committee, and to facilitate that, and because of the plethora of amendments and the number of people who wish to speak, I might not give way as much as I usually do. I want to facilitate the number of amendments and allow people to speak for themselves. I therefore want to make some good progress, because I am duty-bound to go through a large number of amendments in this opening speech.
As we have progressed to Committee—the House will know that the Government have generously allowed no fewer than 18 hours of debate time—it is necessary
to reiterate some key points that go to the heart of why the Government have introduced this Bill. The Northern Ireland protocol, as the Committee knows, was agreed with the very best of intentions, but it is causing real problems, as has already been accepted across the House, for people and businesses in Northern Ireland, including trade disruption and diversion, significant costs and bureaucracy for traders. This legislation will fix the practical problems that the protocol has created in Northern Ireland. It will enable us to avoid a hard border, to protect the integrity of the United Kingdom and to safeguard the European Union single market.
Turning to the clauses under scrutiny today, clause 1 summarises the effect of the Bill and gives vital clarity on how it will function. The clause sets out three things: first, that the Bill provides clarity that the specific areas of the Northern Ireland protocol that are causing problems would no longer apply in domestic law; secondly, that it clarifies how other legislation, such as the Acts of Union, are affected by the Bill; and thirdly, that it provides vital clarity on the operation of the Bill and its position in relation to other domestic law.
Clause 2 underpins the essential functioning of the Bill by confirming that any part of the protocol or withdrawal agreement that has been excluded by the provisions of this Bill has no effect in domestic law. That is necessary and technical, but it is vital for the Bill to function, as without that provision, there may be a lack of clarity as to whether the existing protocol and EU law regime or the revised operation of the protocol has effect. Where this Bill or its powers do not exclude provision in the protocol or withdrawal agreement, that provision will continue to have domestic effect via the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as it does today.
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Clause 3 supplements clause 2 and will remove the requirement for courts of law to interpret relevant domestic law in line with the withdrawal agreement, insofar as that would lead to an interpretation of domestic law that is incompatible with this Bill and any regulations subsequently made under it. This is done by the amendment of the relevant provision of the 2018 Act, which requires courts to interpret relevant separation agreement law—that is, domestic law—consistently with the withdrawal agreement. Instead, it is made clear that no such interpretation should be made, if that would be incompatible with the provisions of the Bill or any regulations made under it. That is vital to provide certainty as to how the regime should operate, ensuring that where the protocol no longer applies, courts are not required to interpret legislation in line with it.
Turning to the other two clauses we are considering today, clause 15 ensures that the Bill can fully meet its objectives by granting powers to make clear where additional elements of the protocol and withdrawal agreement are excluded, subject to carefully defined purposes. This means that Ministers can make regulations to adjust how the Bill interacts with the protocol and to reflect which elements are disapplied. To ensure that is done only if necessary to meet the Bill’s objectives, the power is limited to a list of specified purposes set out in subsection (1), such as to ensure the effective flow of trade between Northern Ireland and another part of the United Kingdom. Subsection (3) provides that the power cannot be used to terminate the effect of the
provisions of the protocol that relate to the rights of individuals, the common travel area and other areas of north-south co-operation.
Those are not the only areas of the protocol left unchanged by the Bill. For example, the articles of the protocol relating to the single electricity market are not affected. They are specifically defined here to provide particular reassurance about those sensitive areas. Clause 15 is important to ensure that the Bill is flexible enough to tackle any unintended consequences or future issues that may arise that threaten the objectives of the Bill, particularly considering the importance of the issues that the Bill is intended to address.