# United Kingdom common framework policies

The United Kingdom Common Frameworks are a group of legislative and non- legislative policies that aim to create UK wide frameworks and ensure the security and integrity of the UK internal market.
Some of these policies will fall under devolved competence, and others it plans to reserve for central government.
To create a common UK-wide policy area, some policies will require memorandums of understanding and other areas it will declare as reserved matters.

## History

On 13 July 2017, the European Union Withdrawal Bill, to govern the UK exit from the EU and make provisions for certain EU laws to be retained where necessary, had its first reading in the House of Commons.
At the end of the transition period, the 160 to 290 EU policies cease to apply to the UK and must be replaced by the United Kingdom's own common framework policies. Some policies are defined by the Northern Ireland Protocol.
On 15 March 2018, the Government of the United Kingdom published a list of common framework policies that it had been sharing as a member of the European Union and that will need to be reassigned following Brexit.
On 23 July 2017 the Scottish government introduced the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill into the Scottish Parliament. On 17 April 2018, the UK Government intervened and referred the Bill to the UK Supreme Court to challenge its legality and get a ruling on whether its provisions for the continuity of law were outwith the legal competence of the Scottish Government and Parliament. On 13 December 2018 the UK Supreme Court ruled that the provisions of the bill would exceed the statutory power of the Scottish Government and Parliament, and the bill was sent back for editing: in the light of the ruling, the Scottish Government abandoned it.
On 26 June 2019, the European Withdrawal Bill passed through Parliament, received Royal Assent, and became an Act.

## Objectives

The UK Government proposes to establish common frameworks where it considers them necessary:
* to allow the UK internal market to continue functioning, while acknowledging policy divergence;
* to allow the United Kingdom to continue meeting its international obligations;
* Ensure the UK can negotiate, enter into and implement new trade agreements and international treaties;
* enable the management of common resources;
* to provide administrative support and access to justice in legal case that involve international dispute resolution; and
* safeguard the security of the UK.

## Implementation process for legislative and non-legislative frameworks
### Non-legislative common frameworks (implementation process)

The Government's proposed implementation process is divided into 5 phases:
Key
🔹 = End of phase agreement
🔰 = Task
Phase 1
🔰 Agreement of framework principles
🔰 First Phase of multilateral “deep dives”
Phase 2
🔰 Continued multilateral agreement
🔰 Development of required frameworks legislation
🔰 Beginning of bilateral stakeholders engagement
🔰 Light-touch review and scrutiny of framework outlines
🔹 Outline framework
Phase 3
🔰 Policy Finalisation
🔰 External stakeholder engagement
🔰 In-depth review and assessment process
🔰 Collective agreement on policy approach
🔹 Provisional framework agreement
🔰 Required reappraisal of framework based on outcomes of cross - cutting issues (Phase 4 +5)
Phase 4
🔰 Required legislation in parliamentary passage
🔰 Framework preparation and implementation
🔹 Framework agreement
Phase 5
🔰 Post implementations arrangements
These talks are to be held between the UK Government and the individual Devolved Governments, and the finished frameworks are then subject to agreement in the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC)

## Legislative common frameworks

Below are the 24 Policy areas where the United Kingdom Government plans to create Common Framework Policies for after Brexit using legislation.
Agriculture :
| Legislation | (Agriculture Act) |
| Sub areas | Agricultural support Agriculture - fertiliser regulations Agriculture - GMO marketing and cultivation Agriculture - organic farming Agriculture - zootech Plant health, seeds and propagating material |
| Stage: | Royal Assent 11/11/20 |
| Chemicals ||
| Sub areas | The REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Chemicals regulation(including pesticides) Hazardous substances planning |
| Status | Complete |
| Healthcare ||
| Sub area | Elements of reciprocal healthcare |
| Environment ||
| Legislation | (Environment Act) |
| Sub areas | Environmental quality - chemicals Environmental quality - ozone depleting substances and F-gases Environmental quality - pesticides Environmental quality - waste packaging and product regulations |
| Stage: Started in: | Committee (House of Commons) (House of Commons) |
| Fisheries ||
| Legislation | (Fisheries Act) |
| Sub area | Fisheries management and support |
| Stage : Started in: | Committee (House of Commons) (House of Lords) |
| Food Safety ||
| Sub areas | Food and feed safety and hygiene law food and feed safety and hygiene law, and the controls that verify compliance with food and feed law (official controls) Food compositional standards Food labelling Nutrition health claims, composition and labelling |
| Emission Trading ||
| Legislation | (Finance Act) The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 |
| Sub area | UK Emissions Trading Scheme |
| Status | Passed |
| Qualifications ||
| Legislation | (United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020) |
| Sub area | Services Mutual recognition of professional qualifications (MRPQ) |
| Status: Started in: | Complete |
| Procurement ||
| Sub area | Public procurement |
| Legislation | (Procurement Bill 2021) |
| Trade Liberation ||
| Sub area | Services Directive |

## Common frameworks using alternate implementing methods

Below are 79 policy areas that the Government says will require secondary legislation such legislative consent motions
| No | Area of Law |
| BEIS ||
| 1. | Company Law |
| 2. | Late payment (commercial transactions) |
| 4. | Radioactive substances |
| 5. | Recognition of insolvency proceedings in EU Member States |
| 6. | Specified quantities and packaged goods legislation |
| Cabinet Office ||
| 8. | Statistics |
| DEFRA ||
| 9. | Air Quality |
| 10. | Biodiversity - Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources (ABS) |
| 11. | Marine Environment |
| 12. | Spatial Data Infrastructure Standards |
| 13. | Natural Environment and Biodiversity |
| 14. | Waste Management |
| DFT ||
| 15. | Access for non-UK hauliers and passenger transport operations, plus combined transport |
| 16. | Intelligent transport systems |
| 17. | Operator licensing (roads) |
| 18. | Rail technical standards (Interoperability) |
| 19. | Driver licensing |
| 20. | Compulsory (3rd Party) Motor Insurance - as per Part VI Road Traffic Act 1988 |
| DHSC ||
| 21. | Clinical trials of medicinal products for human use |
| 22. | Elements of the regulation of tobacco and related products |
| 23. | Good laboratory practice |
| 24. | Medicinal products for human use |
| 25. | Medicine prices |
| 26. | Nutrition health claims, composition and labelling |
| 27. | Blood safety and quality |
| 28. | Organs |
| 29. | Public health (serious cross-border threats to health) (notification system for pandemic flu, Zika etc.) |
| 30. | Tissues and cells (apart from embryos and gametes) |
| GEO ||
| 31. | Equal treatment legislation |
| HSE ||
| 32. | Civil use of explosives |
| 33. | Control of major accident hazards |
| 34. | Genetically modified micro-organisms contained use (i.e. rules on protection of human health and the environment during the development) |
| MHCLG ||
| 35. | Hazardous substances planning |
| 36. | Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive |