EU (Withdrawal) Bill Remaining Stages, House of Commons 16 and 17 January 2018

European Union laws impact many of the council services that affect people's day-to-day lives, from protecting people from unsafe food when they eat out to regulating how councils buy goods and services. The conversion of EU law will therefore have an impact on our most important public services.

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Key messages

  • Currently local government has a formal advisory role in the EU law and policy-making process through its membership of the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR). Formally involving local government in law-making has ensured that EU laws are improved by consulting those at the frontline of delivery.
  • The Prime Minister made a commitment that the same rules will apply on the day after exit as on the day before. Therefore, a replacement of this formal advisory role is needed so that local government can continue our role in good law-making in the UK once we leave the EU and to ensure no deficiency in local government powers. To be clear, it is the rights and responsibilities local government currently have that need to be replicated, not the institution of the CoR itself.
  • The LGA, together with the local government associations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, have been in discussion with the UK Government about how this advisory role might be replicated in UK law. Our shared ambition is to replicate the advisory role of local government in the UK post-exit, without creating new bureaucracies. We would encourage the Government to update Parliament on the progress of these discussions as soon as possible.