Chapter 5: Looking ahead to the new session
148.The result of the general election held on 8 June has raised significant questions over the previous Government’s plans for delivering Brexit. It is too early to answer these questions, but it is already clear that, with at least eight bills relating to Brexit forming part of the Queen’s Speech on 21 June 2017, these issues will dominate the domestic legislative agenda throughout the extended two-year session of Parliament. At the same time, the Government’s loss of its majority means that it will need to have regard to a wide range of opinions in Parliament and beyond. The Government’s likely reliance upon support from the Democratic Unionist Party may also influence how it goes about mitigating the effects of Brexit upon Northern Ireland.
149.Against this uncertain backdrop, and bearing in mind the commencement of formal negotiations between the UK Government and the European Commission on 19 June 2017, detailed and robust parliamentary scrutiny of the progress of the negotiations will be needed more than ever in the coming months. We will play our part in that scrutiny, cooperating wherever possible with other select committees in both Houses. We will seek to bring transparency to the process, in order both to hold the Government to account for its conduct of the negotiations, and to ensure that Parliament and the public can properly influence the outcome.
150.We will not be able to achieve these legitimate objectives unless the new Government is prepared to honour the last Government’s commitments to match the level of transparency being shown by the EU institutions.
151.We call on the new Government, as a matter of urgency, to bring forward specific proposals in fulfilment of the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU’s commitment to provide the Westminster Parliament with at least as much information as the Commission provides to the European Parliament.
152.We will continue to publish thematic reports on important issues arising in the Brexit negotiations. We will resume those inquiries that were paused at the dissolution of Parliament, which are listed at paragraph 15 of this report. We will launch new inquiries looking at different aspects of Brexit, while continuing to monitor progress on the core issues upon which we have already reported, including efforts to safeguard the rights of EU and UK nationals, and the settlement of any outstanding UK contributions to the EU budget.
153.Over time we will also turn our attention to longer term issues, such as the institutional structures for supporting the UK-EU relationship post-Brexit, whether judicial or quasi-judicial, or intergovernmental, as well as considering the options for future interparliamentary cooperation. When the time comes, we will scrutinise whatever agreements emerge from the Brexit negotiations, with a view to informing the ‘meaningful votes’ that the previous Government undertook to hold in both Houses before ratification.
154.We will also continue to perform our core function of scrutinising EU documents. As we have noted, the EU policies and legislation that are currently under discussion will be important to the UK, whether they come into force before or after Brexit. It is vital therefore both that the Government continues to devote sufficient resource to supporting parliamentary scrutiny, and that scrutiny committees remain fully engaged with the process. At the same time, we acknowledge the demands that Brexit is placing on all departments, and we will continue to adopt a proportionate approach to scrutiny. In accordance with the practice adopted over the last 12 months, we will recommend reasoned opinions on EU legislation or debates on opt-in decisions only in exceptional circumstances.
155.New EU laws and policies are still vitally important to the UK. While we acknowledge the successful completion of the Brexit negotiations is the new Government’s highest objective, we call on the Government at the same time to ensure that sufficient resources are available to support effective parliamentary scrutiny for as long as the UK remains part of the EU.
156.The past session has seen a significant increase in the intensity of interparliamentary dialogue. This has reflected an understandable interest of parliamentarians across the EU in political developments in the UK—an interest that is likely to continue in the coming session. It is in the interests of all that we should continue to promote this dialogue—we are far more likely to secure a successful Brexit if parliamentarians in the UK and in the EU can communicate freely and share their priorities and concerns. We will therefore continue both to welcome parliamentarians from the EU to Westminster, and to send EU Committee Members to other capitals.
157.As part of this effort, we will also continue to develop a closer dialogue with the European Parliament, while respecting its distinct responsibilities in the context of the Brexit negotiations.
158.As our inquiry on Brexit: devolution has demonstrated, Brexit underlines the need for enhanced dialogue between the governments and legislatures of the UK itself. We have well-established channels of communication with colleagues in the House of Commons, and we visited Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh over the course of the past session, as well as holding meetings of committee chairs within the ECUK forum. We will consider in coming months whether existing structures for intra-UK dialogue are adequate, or whether they need to be strengthened in the run-up to Brexit.
159.Brexit has increased the need for close dialogue between the Westminster Parliament, the European Parliament, and the parliaments of the other 27 EU Member States. We will continue to treat such dialogue as a high priority in the coming session. We will, in due course, also consider the institutional structure for maintaining close interparliamentary relations post-Brexit.
160.Brexit affects the devolved legislatures in the UK as much as it does the Westminster Parliament. In partnership with our colleagues around the UK, we will consider whether the existing structures for intra-UK interparliamentary dialogue are adequate, or whether they need to be strengthened in the run-up to Brexit.
161.Finally, we are conscious that Brexit is a challenge facing the whole House of Lords, not just the EU Committee. Other Select Committees, notably the Constitution Committee, the Science and Technology Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights, have already undertaken important work on Brexit, and other Committees will become more involved in the coming session. It is vital that the work of Select Committees is coordinated, to ensure that the House’s resources are used to best effect, and we therefore welcome the appointment by the Liaison Committee of an Informal Brexit Liaison Group, composed of the chairs of Select Committees and chaired by the Senior Deputy Speaker.
162.We also note that during the new session the Liaison Committee will conduct a full review of committee work in the House of Lords. We will contribute constructively to the review, and will seek to ensure that, as we approach Brexit, the resources of the EU Committees are used flexibly and efficiently to support the vital work of the House as a whole.
163.We will contribute constructively to the forthcoming Liaison Committee review of the committee work of the House of Lords. We will also seek to ensure that the resources of the EU Committees are used flexibly and efficiently in the coming session, to support the work of the whole House in scrutinising Brexit.