United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — Clause 40 — Goods Moving From Great Britian to Northern Ireland — Northern Ireland Assembly Veto on Requirements — Charges — 21 Sep 2020 at 22:59

The majority of MPs voted not to give the Northern Ireland Assembly a veto on any new requirements relating to goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and against a ban on charges relating to such movements of goods.

MPs were considering the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill^[1][2].

The amendment rejected in this vote was:

• Amendment 68, in clause 40, page 31, line 16, at end insert—
• ‘(1A) Regulations that would introduce new requirements for goods traded from Great Britain to Northern Ireland may not come into force without the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
• (1B) No additional official or administrative costs consequent on any regulations of the kind mentioned in subsection (1A) may be recouped from the private sector.

The rejected amendment was accompanied by the following explanatory statement from its proposer:

The intention of this amendment is to require the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly before trade frictions are imposed on goods traded from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and to protect Northern Ireland businesses from paying for any new administrative costs.

Had it not been rejected the amendment would have added to Clause 40^[3] of the Bill which set out duties on UK ministers, ministers of devolved administrations and other public officials to

• have special regard to the following matters when exercising any function for a relevant purpose—
• (a) the need to maintain Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom’s internal market;
• (b)the need to respect Northern Ireland’s place as part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom; and
• (c)the need to facilitate the free flow of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the aim of—
• (i)streamlining trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and
• (ii)maintaining and strengthening the integrity and smooth operation of the internal market in the United Kingdom.
• [1] Parliament's webpage on the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, Parliament.uk
• [2] Explanatory notes to the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, Parliament.uk website
• [3] Version of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill to which this amendment relates, p31 containing Clause 40, Parliament.uk website

Debate in Parliament |