# The Withdrawal Agreement (Windsor Framework and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Regulation 2(6) omits section 15C of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to allow the United Kingdom co-chair to consent to the Joint Committee adopting decisions or recommendations by written procedure for the period in between meetings, provided for in Rule 9(1) of Annex VIII of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Regulation 3(7)(c) amends Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to change the number of days the Democratic Scrutiny Committee has to decide to hold an inquiry into a replacement EU act from five working days to ten working days.
Regulation 3(7)(d) clarifies the statutory obligation on Northern Ireland Ministers and departments to comply with reasonable information requests from the Democratic Scrutiny Committee.
Regulation 3(7)(e) and (f) amend Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to change the number of days the Democratic Scrutiny Committee has to publish a report of conclusions of an inquiry into a replacement EU act and publish evidence relevant to the inquiry from fifteen working days to twelve working days before the end of the scrutiny period.
The remaining provisions in regulations 2 and 3 update references in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to the Windsor Framework as per Joint Declaration No. 1/2023 of 24 March 2023 made between the EU and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the withdrawal agreement.
A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument. An explanatory memorandum has been published alongside this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2026/9780348285789/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-withdrawal-agreement-windsor-framework-and-governance-amendment-regulations-2026/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.