Territorial extent and application
- Section 56 sets out the territorial extent of the sections in the Act. The extent of an Act is the legal jurisdiction of which it forms part of the law; application refers to where it has practical effect. For example, a section may extend to the UK where it relates to retained EU legislation but apply only in the jurisdictions where the amended EU legislation will have practical effect.
- The UK Parliament will not normally legislate for areas within the competence of the Senedd Cymru, the Scottish Parliament, or the Northern Ireland Assembly without the consent of the legislature concerned. In line with the Sewel Convention, the UK Government sought the legislative consent of all the Devolved Legislatures for the provisions that engage the Legislative Consent Motion process. Each of the Devolved Legislatures have agreed legislative consent on the recommendation of their respective Devolved Administrations: the Northern Ireland Assembly agreed on 31 March 2020; the Senedd Cymru on 29 September 2020 and the Scottish Parliament on 30 September 2020.
- See the table in Annex A for a summary of the position regarding territorial extent and application in the UK.
