Interparliamentary Forum on Brexit meeting - 18 January 2018

The second meeting of the Interparliamentary Forum on Brexit, bringing together parliamentarians from Westminster, Edinburgh and Cardiff, along with officials from Belfast, was held at the House of Lords on 18 January 2018.

Statement

Attendees agreed the following statement:

"Today, we the Chairs, Conveners and representatives of Committees scrutinising Brexit-related issues in the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, House of Commons and House of Lords, met at the House of Lords for the second meeting of the Interparliamentary Forum on Brexit, to discuss the process of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, and our collective scrutiny of that process. Officials from the Northern Ireland Assembly were in attendance as observers.

The Interparliamentary Forum was established out of recognition that, notwithstanding our different political positions and perspectives on Brexit, as parliamentarians in our respective legislatures we face common challenges: seeking to ensure the best outcome for the people and communities we represent; holding the UK and devolved governments to account for their role in the process; scrutinising the effects of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and related legislation, including the legislative consent process; understanding the implications of Brexit for the future of the devolution settlements; and seeking to determine the nature of the UK's future relationship with the EU.

As the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill completes its House of Commons stages, today's meeting provided a timely opportunity for us to share information on the work that each of our Committees and legislatures is undertaking. We have focused in particular on the implications of Clause 11 of the Bill for the devolution settlements, and discussions on potential future UK-wide frameworks, and we recognise the strong views of members of the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales on these issues. We met Chloe Smith MP, Minister for the Constitution, Cabinet Office, and have made clear to her our various perspectives on these important questions. We urge the Government to take all of these points of view into account as the House of Lords begins its scrutiny of the legislation in the coming weeks.

The Forum will meet again in March 2018, when we will again review the progress of the Brexit negotiations and the parallel domestic legislation.”

Attendees

• Mick Antoniw AM, Chair, National Assembly for Wales Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee
• Claire Baker MSP, Deputy Convenor, Scottish Parliament Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee
• Lord Blencathra, Chair, House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
• Sir William Cash MP, Chair, House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee
• Bruce Crawford MSP, Convener, Scottish Parliament Finance and Constitution Committee
• Chris Davies MP, member, House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee
• Richard Graham MP, member, House of Commons Exiting the EU Committee
• Lord Jay of Ewelme, member, House of Lords European Union Committee and Chair, House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee
• Bernard Jenkin MP, Chair, House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
• Joan McAlpine MSP, Convener, Scottish Parliament Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee
• Lord McFall of Alcluith, Senior Deputy Speaker, House of Lords
• Stuart McMillan MSP, Deputy Convenor, Scottish Parliament Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
• David Rees AM, Chair, National Assembly for Wales External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee
• Graham Simpson MSP, Convener, Scottish Parliament Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
• Baroness Taylor of Bolton, Chair, House of Lords Constitution Committee
• Adam Tomkins MSP, Deputy Convener, Scottish Parliament Finance and Constitution Committee
• Lord Trefgarne, Chair, House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee