Introduction In Part 1 of this piece I summarised the role of Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) and some trends that it had flagged during the last parliamentary session. Broadly speaking, these included: (1) a … [Read more...] about Spotlight on the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee – Part 2
In November 2021, two parliamentary committees declared that the use and overbreadth of delegated legislation had shifted power irreparably away from Parliament and that only a total “reset” would suffice. One of them, the Secondary Legislation … [Read more...] about Spotlight on the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee – Part 1
This blog describes how constitutional provisions in five countries limit the use of delegated legislation. Delegated legislation in the UK is usually described as legislation that is created as a result of Parliament giving away rule-making powers … [Read more...] about Constitutional Provisions Limiting Delegated Legislation
In a recent working paper, the Hansard Society has laid out its preliminary proposals for an overhaul of the parliamentary Statutory Instrument (SI) procedure. The proposals would see all SIs laid in draft and sifted by a Parliamentary … [Read more...] about What could proposals to reform SI procedure in Parliament mean for the courts?
On Friday 22 April, The Constitution Society held a conference looking at the power of the UK executive within the political system. Speakers at the conference considered the nature the government’s power and its relationship with the institutions … [Read more...] about Executive power and the constitution: is the UK government getting more powerful?
Although the pandemic has heightened the importance of delegated legislation in everyday policymaking, government reliance on delegated legislation has been on the rise for around a century. In 1921, Cecil Carr described the relationship between … [Read more...] about In the highest degree, delegated and discretionary
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has laid over 360 Statutory Instruments (‘SIs’) before Parliament. This continues a wider trend: government reliance upon delegated legislation to enact policy. Whilst this trend can be justified … [Read more...] about Coronavirus regulations and the abuse of the ‘urgency procedure’
