The dataset includes line-by-line information on Retained EU Law (REUL, now known as assimilated law), as reported to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) by UK government departments.
REUL was a type of domestic law, created by the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and which came into effect at the end of the UK’s post-Brexit transition period (which ended on 31 December 2020). The primary objective of REUL was to provide legal continuity and certainty at the end of the transition period.
On 29 June 2023 the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2023 received Royal Assent, providing departments powers to either reform REUL or remove it from the UK statute book. Under the ‘REUL Act’, REUL which had not been revoked by 2023 then became “assimilated law”. UK government departments have worked to identify the REUL / assimilated law they own and take decisions on, and actions to address it.
The dataset lists all REUL / assimilated law identified by UK government departments, which pieces they own, and a range of information including which policy area and sector of the economy it relates to, territorial application, whether it relates to an international obligation. It also outlines the current status of each piece e.g., whether it has been amended or repealed, the date of any action, and hyperlinks to any related legislation.
The contents are updated every 6-months through a cross-Whitehall commissioning exercise. Departments are responsible for updating their own datasets, which are then quality assured and collated by DBT teams.
