Moved by
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
56: After Clause 22, insert the following new Clause—
“Duty to seek an agreement on outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol
(1) Before a Minister of the Crown may exercise any of the powers in sections 1 to 20, His Majesty's Government must—
(a) seek an agreement with the European Union regarding outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol, or
(b) pursue and exhaust all legal options under the EU withdrawal agreement.
(2) Within the period of three months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, and every month thereafter until—
(a) an agreement is reached, or
(b) a Minister of the Crown is of the opinion that an agreement cannot be reached,
a Minister of the Crown must lay before each House of Parliament a statement outlining what progress has been made in negotiations.”
Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment would make it a statutory requirement for the Government to seek a negotiated outcome with the EU, and to exhaust legal routes under the EU withdrawal agreement before availing itself of the powers in this Bill. The amendment would also require Ministers to provide regular updates to Parliament regarding the ongoing UK-EU negotiations.