What is the effectiveness and future of post-Brexit UK Common Frameworks?

The House of Lords Common Frameworks Scrutiny Committee today invites written contributions to its ongoing inquiry into the Common Frameworks programme.

The call for evidence follows the committee’s first report on the programme published in March, which highlighted several concerns with the programme, as well as the UK Internal Market Act and emphasised that a reset in intergovernmental relations was necessary following Brexit.

The committee now wishes to examine how the Common Frameworks programme will continue to operate going forwards, how it could be reviewed and improved in future, the contextual importance of intergovernmental relations, and their interaction with key cross-cutting issues including the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland, the review of Intergovernmental Relations, international trade, the Trade and Co-operation Agreement with the EU, and the UK Internal Market.

Topics the committee is seeking evidence on include:

• How successful has the Common Frameworks programme been in the seven months that it has been provisionally active for? What effect, if any, has it had on your organisation?
• How could the governance structures of either the programme as a whole or for individual Common Frameworks be made more efficient?
• What does good scrutiny of intergovernmental relations look like? Should each Government be required to publish its preferred position on matters under discussion through intergovernmental forums?
• What should the Office for the Internal Market look for in assessing the impact of divergence agreed through the Common Frameworks on the Internal Market?
• What should ongoing reporting on the progress and implementation of the Common Frameworks programme look like?
• How can measuring divergence under the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland be built into the Common Frameworks programme?

The committee invites interested individuals to submit written evidence by 16 September 2021. The full call for evidence is available on the committee’s website.

Baroness Andrews, Chair of the Common Frameworks Scrutiny Committee said: 

“The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union resulted in a number of powers that were held by the EU being returned to the UK. Many of these powers intersect with the competences of at least one of the Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish governments.

“Common frameworks are a mechanism for the UK and devolved governments to mutually agree some amount of regulatory consistency for policy areas where returned EU powers are within devolved competence whilst allowing for agreed divergence. Since the committee’s appointment we have been considering and scrutinising these frameworks and our report earlier this year concluded that these frameworks are crucial in strengthening the Union. Therefore, we are inviting further written evidence on how these frameworks will continue to operate in the future, including how they can be improved to allow for both good governance and effective intergovernmental relations”.