My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, for what must be the most cynical speech I have heard on this Bill so far. We have seen just how committed the Opposition are to any kind of serious reform. They were perfectly to accept all this legislation which was imposed by the European Union through the various processes—before the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, corrects me. Now Labour is not interested in any kind of reform of it. It is perfectly happy to live with it. It shows the true colours of the Opposition.
Nevertheless, I am of course pleased to say that the Government have already reformed or revoked more than 1,000 pieces of retained EU law. But I agree with the contributions of my noble friends Lady Noakes, Lord Jackson, Lady Lawlor, Lord Frost and Lord Shinkwin—but this should not be the limit of our ambition. The answer to the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, is that the retained EU law is already listed in the famous schedule, and, if she accesses this internet thingy, she can get a list of all the remaining retained EU law. Departments will continue to review all the retained EU law that has not already been revoked, reformed or planned for revocation this year, to identify further opportunities for reform. We want to do this because we want to reduce the burdens on business, generate more jobs and unlock the potential for economic growth. Again, we can see where the Opposition’s true priorities are in that agenda.
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As a down payment on our commitment to deliver meaningful reform, our 10 May policy paper, Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy, set out our intention to reform regulations and remove some of the burdens on businesses. We announced changes that will reduce disproportionate EU-derived reporting requirements, and these could potentially save businesses up to £1 billion a year. That will be just the first in a series of announcements that the Government will make in the coming months on reforming regulation to drive growth—not just EU regulation but any that stands in the way of driving further economic growth.
In addition to the schedule, the Bill will still strip retained EU law of its EU-derived interpretive effects, thereby assimilating it into domestic law by the end of 2023—that is the answer to the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Fox. Furthermore, the powers in the Bill will still enable us to revoke, replace and reform any outdated EU laws that remain on our statute book by 2026. This new approach will provide the space for longer-term and more ambitious reforms, and the Government intend to do just that. Of course, this will also mean that fewer statutory instruments will be required to preserve EU laws that are deemed appropriate or necessary. On this small point, I agree with some of the points that were made: some of the regulations are appropriate and necessary to maintain—no one has ever argued against that.
Moreover, the Brexit opportunities unit is still operational, spearheaded by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. It has been pivotal in driving the development and delivery of the retained EU law Bill and the wider associated retained EU law reform programme. These efforts are being supported by specialist legal expertise from outside government, and Parliament will be able easily to monitor government progress on REUL reform, as we update the dashboard every quarter. If the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, is interested, I can send her the link so she can access it—but I suspect that she is not really that interested in any reform programme.
The unit drove the aforementioned 10 May regulatory reform announcement, setting out a long-term plan to reform UK regulation over the coming months. Furthermore, we have committed to future announcements on how we will reform regulations to reduce the cost of living, deliver choice to consumers, establish trail-blazing regulation to catalyse innovation and make the UK a science superpower, while removing obstacles to building the new world-class infrastructure that we need.
However, I understand the sentiment of the amendment, and it is important that Parliament and the public are able to hold the Government’s feet to the fire and ensure that our momentum continues on retained EU law reform. Therefore, I fully support the spirit of my noble friend’s amendment, but the Government would appreciate some additional time to consider some of its finer details and, in particular, to consult with parliamentary counsel on what precisely is the most appropriate drafting. Therefore, I hope that my noble friend Lady Noakes will agree to withdraw her amendment, but I am happy to give her an undertaking that the Government will give further consideration to the matter ahead of Third Reading, with a view to working with my noble friend to fashion a similarly spirited amendment.