UK: The Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and Partnerships (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

The Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and Partnerships (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (here, pdf) were considered by the Sifting Committees last month and both recommended that the Regulations should be subject to the affirmative procedure and not the negative procedure.

In its report (here, pdf), the House of Commons European Statutory Instruments Committee stated (at para. 1.5):

Despite the Government’s assurance that the instrument 'makes no significant changes to the nature of the UK’s company law framework', the Committee believes that there are issues that the House will want to debate. Some of the issues have not been fully exposed previously as the Explanatory Memorandum [here, pdf] states that the Government 'has not been able to publicly consult in order to minimise sensitivities in advance of negotiations with the EU.'".

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, in its report (here, pdf), noted the following (paras. 1 and 2):

While the Department [for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy] asserts that the instrument seeks to preserve the company law framework unchanged as far as possible and appropriate, some of the proposed changes nevertheless appear to be significant ... Given the importance of the draft Regulations for the continued and effective operability of the UK company law framework after exit, the House may expect the opportunity to debate the instrument".