News • Good Food Trade Campaign
EAC questions 'one in, three out rule' for post-Brexit environmental regulation
Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee challenges Government Ministers on whether the 'one in, three out' principle will apply to UK environmental regulation post-Brexit, receiving a non-committal response.
The Environmental Audit Committee has published three letters sent to Government Ministers. In the letters, the Chair has raised concerns about the ‘one in three out’ principle in relation to environmental regulations post-Brexit. The ‘one in, three out’ rule was a commitment undertaken by the previous Government (2015 – 2017) to remove three pieces of regulation for every new piece brought in. It made exemptions for transposed EU law and international obligations.
- Letter to Greg Clark MP (PDF 69 KB)
- Letter to the Chair of BEIS (PDF 59 KB)
- Letter to Lord Henley (PDF 56 KB)
The Government had signalled that the ‘one in, three out’ rule might be enforced in its explanatory memorandum in respect of future regulations to reduce climate change-causing gases under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
Specifically, the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Mary Creagh MP, has asked if the principle will apply to:
- Measures transferring EU law into UK law through the EU Withdrawal Bill
- Measures to create new UK bodies or regulations to replace EU bodies/regulations under the Bill
- Environmental measures that would previously have been exempt (because they were EU regulated) but now will be domestic.
The Government has said that is has not decided whether to apply this principle for this Parliament. The EAC raised concerns that this principle could make Government less likely to adopt future environmental protections as more regulations become UK, rather than EU, law once the UK leaves the EU,
Mary Creagh, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said:
“EU environmental regulations have been central to protecting our treasured natural spaces and iconic British species. As we leave the EU, we are concerned that the ‘one in, three out’ principle could have a chilling effect on future environmental laws and regulations. It is vital that the UK’s environmental protections are in no way weakened outside of the European Union”
Published Wednesday 13 December 2017
Good Food Trade Campaign: Campaigning for good trade that benefits people and the planet at home and overseas.
