Key events
Planned asylum centre near Oxfordshire village to face legal challenge
Rajeev Syal
Ministers will face a legal challenge over plans to convert a Ministry of Defence site near the Oxfordshire village of Piddington into accommodation for more than 1,200 detained asylum seekers.
It emerged on Thursday that Angela Rayner, the housing and communities secretary, has approved full planning permission, a decision welcomed by the Home Office, who want to end the use of asylum hotels.
Tim McNally, the local parish council chair, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme there would be “many actions” by villagers, and that ministers should “absolutely” be braced for a legal challenge, which would need to be lodged within the next six weeks.
Ministers have faced opposition over the plans from villagers, who even made a symbolic attempt to declare the village independent from the rest of the country after a referendum of its 350 residents. Asked how the village would respond, McNally said: “There’s going to be many actions, you will see. We will disclose that as we move forward.”
Asked if ministers should be braced for a legal challenge, he said: “Absolutely, absolutely.”
Campaigners could also apply the new Hillsborough law, which is being considered by parliament. Once passed, the law would create a legally enforceable duty of candour that compels public officials and authorities to act transparently when investigations and inquiries take place.
The food and farming deal alone could generate at least 780 pieces of in-scope EU law every year, the committee said.
“This may sound like a technical issue, but the rules in question can affect everyday matters, from food standards and consumer prices to business costs and household budgets.
“That is why effective parliamentary scrutiny is essential to ensure such changes do not pass without proper oversight.
“The procedures, institutional arrangements and resources that are needed for this must be provided, so that parliament can undertake its scrutiny thoroughly and transparently,” Stirrup said.
After the summit, Burnham plans to go further in exploring options for the UK’s future ties.
The prime minister’s remarks in recent weeks have fuelled questions about the prospect of the UK returning to the EU or adopting its freedom of movement rules, but he has insisted voters would ultimately be “the boss” of any changes.
UK-EU deal will lead to ‘growing pressure’ for parliament to scrutinise legislation, committee warns
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There will be a “growing pressure” for parliament to scrutinise EU legislation under new deals on food and emissions to be sealed ahead of the UK’s summit with the bloc next week, a Lords’ committee has warned.
Prime minister Andy Burnham is due to meet EU leaders in Brussels next week and sign agreements that he says could raise GDP by 0.4%. This includes a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal on food and farming, as well as one on emissions trading and another for a youth mobility scheme.
A deal is also thought to include a health security agreement to help address shortages of drugs such as antibiotics and ADHD medication, which have got worse since Brexit, according to a draft text seen by the I newspaper.
It will mark a significant shift in the Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU as they will require dynamic alignment, the process of matching laws to the bloc’s evolving legislation, the House of Lords European Affairs Committee said in a new report.
The committee of peers says this will mean parliament needs to set up a “robust, consistent and adequately resourced cross-departmental system” to manage the UK’s dynamic alignment commitments.
The committee chairman, Jock Stirrup, said:
Although important details remain to be determined of the legal and institutional form that dynamic alignment will take, its introduction will mark a major change to the nature of the UK-EU relationship as it exists under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
As the UK aligns with more EU law, parliament will face growing pressure to scrutinise significant volumes of EU legislation.
The food and farming deal alone could generate at least 780 pieces of in-scope EU law every year, the committee heard.
Meanwhile, the I reports that the government is close to securing a deal with Europe to help tackle post-Brexit medicine shortages, including antibiotics, ADHD medication and epilepsy drugs.
Experts on post-Brexit health policy have reportedly described the deal as “significant’” and a “good first step” in addressing shortages that have hit both sides in recent years.
It comes as prime minister Andy Burnham said he believes a “win-win” deal could be done with the EU that could be “more like the Brexit that people thought they were voting for in 2016”.
The prime minister was meeting fellow leaders at the European Political Community summit in Dublin, ahead of the summit next week, where he hopes to bring Britain closer to Europe.
Burnham said:
I believe there is a good deal to be done that could be a win-win for Britain and Europe.
The deal is not done, and there’ll be some long nights ahead in the next seven days.
In other developments:
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