My Lords, I will now address Amendments 28, 29, 30 and 32, in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Purvis of Tweed and Lord Bassam of Brighton, and the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer. The amendments would reduce the sunset period from five to three years and reduce the period by which it can be extended also from five to three years.
I am afraid that I have to say to the noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord Bassam, and to other noble Lords that, after careful consideration, we believe that the current sunset provisions in the Bill strike the right balance between allowing flexibility for negotiators, the ability to keep agreements operable and providing Parliament with appropriate constraints and scrutiny.
As I have said to noble Lords previously, the Government and I are very aware that at the time of the 2017-19 Trade Bill there was uncertainty and concern from Parliament as to the nature of the Government’s continuity programme. That is why the Government brought forward a number of amendments to the 2017-19 Bill. Noble Lords might be rather bored of hearing me repeat the fact that we have now signed 20 continuity agreements, so they will be pleased
to know that, as the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, acknowledged, we have now signed 21. The United Kingdom and Ukraine have signed a political, free trade and strategic partnership agreement, which will help to further strengthen the partnership and serves as a foundation for a deeper strategic political and trading relationship between the UK and Ukraine. Trade between the UK and Ukraine was worth £1.5 billion in 2019 and we are committed to protecting and growing that trade. Signing this agreement will no doubt help us to do that.
We have now signed 21 continuity agreements and expect to make positive progress with remaining continuity agreements before the end of the transition period. Indeed, before this Bill completes its passage through your Lordships’ House, perhaps I will no longer have to say 21 but can come back with a higher number. I am pleased that these agreements have given Parliament more certainty as to the practical effects of the Government’s continuity programme.
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I stress that our intention for this power is largely to ensure the ongoing technical operability of signed agreements into the future. I humbly suggest to the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, that primary legislation is not the right vehicle for this. The Clause 2 power is required to ensure continuity of existing relationships and to allow us to implement obligations arising from continuity agreements over time and in all circumstances.
It may help noble Lords if I give some examples of where we see that the power might be needed. In the case of a transitioned mutual recognition agreement, we might need to change secondary legislation to update the names of awarding bodies in third countries, so that UK businesses can continue to trade freely and safely overseas, or we may need to update lists of entities subject to procurement obligations in order to reflect machinery of government changes. Noble Lords will be aware—I have said this previously—of the regularity with which Governments of all persuasions are inclined to reorganise the work of government departments. I will not refer to the shuffling of deckchairs, but this needs to be reflected in the relevant regulations in order to remain compliant with agreements.
As I said, the matter has been carefully considered by my department. Evidence suggests that a five-year sunset period is proportionate for a programme of this nature and strikes the right balance between maintaining our agreements efficiently and providing accountability to Parliament.
We of course understand the need for parliamentary scrutiny and we understand that there are concerns about the breadth of the power, which is why we have introduced provisions including the draft affirmative procedure for any regulations made under Clause 2. These changes will be scrutinised. We have committed to voluntary publication of parliamentary reports alongside signed agreements and a requirement that the sunset period can be extended only with the consent of both Houses. I humbly remind your Lordships that the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee gave this legislation a clean bill of health when it scrutinised it recently.
My noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering asked about the terms of office for the Trade Remedies Authority members. If I may, I will address that point carefully when we come to that group later in Committee.
Given this strong record on scrutiny of continuity agreements and the essential nature of the use of the power over the sunset clause, I invite noble Lords not to press these amendments.