Greener UK alongside representatives of of trade unions, employers, lawyers, environmental and animal welfare groups and civil society wrote to MPs expressing concerns over the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and urging for its withdrawal.
The letter, covered in the i, said:
As representatives of trade unions, employers, lawyers, environmental and animal welfare groups and civil society, we are writing to express our serious concerns about the Retained EU Law Bill which returns tomorrow for Report Stage.
The bill’s objective to review, reform or scrap around 4,000 laws by the end of this year, with very limited parliamentary scrutiny or public consultation, is reckless law making that will undermine certainty for business, working people, the environment and public health.
These are diverse and vital protections ranging from paid holiday leave, to basic welfare conditions for the live transportation of animals, to controls on the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides, and safeguards for important wildlife and air quality. Requiring the UK’s governments and parliaments to rush through this process increases the risk of poor or detrimental law entering the statute book.
Yet simply extending the deadline in the bill will not address its wider flaws. The legislation enables ministers to make changes to rules behind closed doors with only very limited parliamentary scrutiny. The government should instead focus on legislation that needs improving through a sensible and consultative process fully involving Parliament and affected groups.
The bill as it stands is a costly distraction and should be withdrawn.
Greener UK
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Angling Trust
Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU)
A Rocha
Asthma + Lung UK
Bat Conservation Trust
Born Free
British Safety Council
Buglife
Bumblebee Conservation Trust
Butterfly Conservation
Campaign for National Parks
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
Chartered Trading Standards Institute
CHEM Trust
Civil Society Alliance
Clean Air Fund
ClientEarth
Cruelty Free International
Cycling UK
Equally Ours
Focus on Labour Exploitation
Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Global Action Plan
Greenpeace
Hope for Justice
Humane Society International UK
Institute of Directors
Institute of Fisheries Management
Keep Britain Tidy
Mammal Society
Marine Conservation Society
National Trust
Northern Ireland Environment Link
Open Spaces Society
People’s Trust for Endangered Species
Plantlife
Rewilding Britain
River Action
RSPCA
Scottish Environment Link
Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming
The Human Rights Consortium
The Pesticide Collaboration
The Ramblers
The Rivers Trust
The RSPB
The TUC
The Wildlife Trusts
Transport & Environment UK
Unchecked
UNISON
Wales Council for Voluntary Action
Wales Environment Link
Waterwise
Whale & Dolphin Conservation
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Wildlife and Countryside Link
Woodland Meadow Trust
Woodland Trust