Published on: 24 March 2022
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport) Robert Courts has published a WMS on the proposed new legislation for the Ship Safety – Merchant Shipping (Safety Standards for Passenger Ships on Domestic Voyages) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2022 (“Grandfather Rights”).
The WMS has been published for the purposes of paragraph 14 of Schedule 8 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The instrument to which this statement relates does not substantively amend EU standards, but the provisions of Schedule 8 apply to a consequential amendment proposed to be made by the instrument to a definition contained in the Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection: Small Ships) Regulations 1998.
This WMS effectively paves the way for the next stage in the process of passing the legislation. This is subject to affirmative action so there will be debates on it in both houses after it is laid before parliament. It is expected that these debates will take place over the next few months.
The full WMS can be found here, the WMS includes a link at the bottom to the draft regulations, the accompanying draft Explanatory Memorandum and the Impact Assessment.