Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023

Key Points

• Creates a sunset mechanism to revoke retained EU law, but allows exemptions and adjustments through regulations and new clauses.
• Includes specific protections for workers’ rights, consumer protections, environmental protections and certain data-related provisions, which may be protected from sunset or require separate treatment.
• Establishes a process to identify which instruments are revoked (the Definitive List) and enables additional instruments to be added via regulation, subject to parliamentary procedures.
• Adds devolution safeguards, enabling the Scottish Ministers and other devolved authorities to be involved, and allowing adjustments to sunset rules for devolved competences.
• Provides transitional, saving and procedural provisions, including the possibility of joint parliamentary scrutiny (sifting) for certain regulations and keeping some changes under review.
• Renames certain agricultural funding arrangements (e.g., direct payments to farmers) as part of the restructuring of policy under retained EU law.

Progress

The bill has completed its parliamentary passage and received Royal Assent, becoming law. Its provisions will now be implemented according to the outlined sunset framework, exemptions and scrutiny processes.

Voting

The bill was largely supported by the governing party but opposed by Labour and most other opposition parties, with cross‑party support from Reform UK and DUP. A range of amendments were proposed—some restricting the sunset or widening exemptions—reflecting different priorities on protections, devolution and parliamentary oversight.