If the noble Lord, Lord Collins, will forgive me, I do not propose to go back over previous discussions about the dashboard, sunsetting of laws, et cetera. He knows our position, and I am well aware of the Opposition’s, so if he will forgive me I will concentrate on the amendments in this group, which are all related to Clause 2, on the extension mechanism.
5.45 pm
I start by outlining that we have every intention of completing what is an ambitious programme of retained EU law reform by 31 December this year. However, we are of course aware that complex reforms sometimes take longer than expected, particularly where we need to consult on new regulatory frameworks, to go back to our long debates on the previous groupings. Therefore, it was a pragmatic and responsible choice to include this clause to ensure sufficient time for more complex reform. Indeed, in many of the previous groupings, that is what noble Lords were calling for us to do.
The extension mechanism is limited and does not allow for extension of the sunset beyond 23 June 2026. Amendment 56, tabled by my noble friend, proposes removing this restriction completely. We feel that the limit on this power is important. It does not allow retained EU law to sit on our statute book indefinitely but gives a deadline by which even the most ambitious reforms can be enacted. We thought the 10th anniversary of the referendum vote particularly appropriate, and it offers, as my noble friend Lady Bloomfield described earlier, a full-circle moment at which the UK can proudly proclaim that we have finally fully regained our sovereignty and have a fully independent domestic statute book fit for the modern world.
Similarly, Amendment 56ZA from my noble friend Lady Lawlor seeks to change the limitation on the extension date, bringing it forward to 23 June 2024. I greatly admire my noble friend’s ambition. She is even more ambitious than the Government, and I thank her for that. However, the extension mechanism was included in the Bill to allow additional time for the reforms. As I said, I appreciate her ambition to restrict it to 2024, but we do not believe that this will offer sufficient time properly to assess the retained EU law that has been extended, and as such we feel it would water down the purpose of this clause. With respect, I believe that 23 June 2026 is the more pragmatic option, but my noble friend should continue pressing the Government to get on with this.