Brexit: Fears EU law axe could side-line Welsh Parliament

Plans to scrap EU-era laws will concentrate too much power in the hands of Welsh and UK government ministers, a report says.

A committee of Senedd members said the bill risks side-lining the Welsh and other UK parliaments, creating an "unacceptable power imbalance".

The bill will allow ministers to fast-track scrapping or changing EU law.

The UK government said the bill would prevent laws inherited from the EU from "dragging down the UK".

Some MPs have also expressed concerns about the proposals.

The bill would allow both Welsh and UK ministers to scrap, amend or replace EU laws on the UK statute book using secondary legislation, prompting concerns about a lack of scrutiny.

It creates a deadline of the end of 2023 whereby any remaining EU laws that have not been saved, reformed or removed will automatically expire.

The Welsh government has recommended that Senedd members do not give their consent to the legislation, which will affect thousands of laws including many in areas under Welsh ministers' control.

The Senedd usually has to say whether it consents to new UK Parliament laws that might affects its powers.

However its decision does not block the legislation from coming into effect.

In September, Mick Antoniw, the Counsel General for Wales, told to the UK government the bill would give UK ministers "unfettered authority to legislate in devolved areas".

He said it risked "the reduction of standards in important areas including employment, health and the environment".

But the UK government said EU law was copied over to smooth the Brexit transition and "was never intended to sit on the statute book indefinitely".

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy at the time, told MPs when he introduced the bill to the UK parliament: "The time is now right to bring the special status of retained EU law in the UK statute book to an end on 31 December 2023, in order to fully realise the opportunities of Brexit and to support the unique culture of innovation in the UK."

Huw-Irranca Davies, the chair of the Senedd committee, said there were "an estimated 4,000 pieces of legislation on a wide range of important areas" to be considered.

"This bill, if it becomes law, will concentrate too much power in the hands of UK and Welsh government ministers, without proper scrutiny from the Senedd," he said.

"For us to have good law in Wales on essential areas such as the environment and agriculture, we must have proper oversight and time to consider legislation - not a rush just to meet, for what is to most of us, an unnecessary deadline.

"These are important matters for the people of Wales and they must be considered carefully to ensure we do not lose important protections that benefit all of us."

The committee has also called on the Welsh government to clarify what impact the legislation could have on their resources.

First Minister Mark Drakeford told the committee deciding what to do with laws formerly covered by EU rules in areas like agriculture, animal welfare and product standards before the deadline would require capacity to be diverted from other parts of the Welsh government.

The bill is currently going through the House of Lords, where it is expected to encounter significant opposition.