This historic Act will make sure the UK’s laws –
entwined with over 40 years of EU law – continue to
work from the day we leave, ensuring a smooth and
orderly exit.
It does this by transferring EU law into UK law where
appropriate and creating temporary powers to correct
the laws that will no longer operate appropriately.
Now that the Act has become law, the Government can
start to use the powers in the Act to prepare our
statute book for our exit from the EU. Work on this
will begin in the coming weeks as Departments start to
lay the relevant secondary legislation in Parliament.
This marks the next essential step in ensuring that the
UK is ready for life after we have left the European
Union.
Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, said:
This is a landmark moment in our preparations for
leaving the European Union.
The EU (Withdrawal) Act is a vital piece of
legislation that will ensure we have a functioning
statute book for exit.
Since the Bill was introduced in Parliament last
year, MPs and peers have spent more than 250 hours
debating its contents and more than 1,400 amendments
have been tabled.
We will now begin the work of preparing our statute
book, using the provisions in this Act, to ensure we
are ready for any scenario, giving people and
businesses the certainty they need.
In total, it’s expected that around 800 pieces of
secondary legislation will be needed. As part of the
first tranche to be laid, the Government will use
powers in the Bill to repeal the European Union Act
2011 as agreed by Parliament.
Alongside this programme of secondary legislation,
Departments are delivering on a further package of
Bills which will deliver the more significant policy
changes needed as a result of our exit from the EU.
