'Sensible move': Farm leaders welcome u-turn on EU law bonfire

Farm leaders have welcomed the government's move to revoke the 'sunset clause' which would have seen thousands of EU rules scrapped by the end of the year.

It follows concerns raised by the industry on the impact of the Retained EU Law Bill, which had in its crosshairs all EU-era regulations.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch confirmed that an amendment would replace the current sunset in the Bill with a list of 600 regulations the government intends to revoke at the end of 2023.

The NFU welcomed the decision as a “sensible and pragmatic move” that the union had "urged the government to take for months".

And the RSPCA said it 'warmly welcomed' the U-turn, calling it a 'huge relief' for animal health and welfare in the UK.

NFU director of trade, Nick von Westenholz said: “A systematic review of Retained EU Law makes a lot of sense, and Brexit provides an opportunity for improving the regulatory regime that governs farming and looks after our environment."

He highlighted the concerns that the Bill in its current form would “force rush decisions on what to retain and amend, and on what to revoke."

He said this would have missed the opportunity to improve the regulatory framework for farming and the environment "with due care and attention".

The 31 December 2023 cut-off date would have seen EU laws copied over to the UK after Brexit expire automatically under the sunset clause.

This posed a "clear risk that some important regulatory safeguards might simply fall away unintentionally," Mr von Westenholz said.

“The government’s amendments to the Bill will hopefully mean this outcome is avoided, without dropping the important reform process on better regulation," he said.

“We will continue to engage with the government as part of this much more practical timetable to ensure farmers operate under the best regulatory regime possible."

RSPCA's head of public affairs, David Bowles said the laws could have "vanished into thin air", which would have been "an animal tragedy".

Around 80% of all major animal welfare laws in the UK were agreed when the UK was a member of the EU.

Existing laws including the battery hen ban, the ban on imported seal products and the banning of growth promoters in farm animals are just some of the 44 animal welfare-related pieces of legislation brought over from the EU.

Mr Bowles said: "Not only would it have been a huge backward step for animals but the government would have reneged on its commitment to maintain high standards of animal welfare post-Brexit."