Since ancient times the House of Commons has claimed privilege in respect of financial legislation, whether over bills dealing with taxation or the granting of money to the Executive. Conventions governing the way restrictions apply to the House of Lords in handling such bills have grown up over a long period and are regulated by the Parliament Acts, 1911 & 1949. In 2015 the Lords delayed the draft Tax Credits Regulations, a statutory instrument dealing with fiscal legislation that had passed the Commons. The Government claimed that Commons’ financial privilege had been infringed and subsequently set up the Strathclyde Review to examine the ‘constitutional crisis’ that had arisen and to make recommendations. Since then a number of parliamentary committees have made critical reports of the Review.
In this paper the authors examine the historical origin of the Commons’ privilege, consider the provisions of the Parliament Acts and how they apply to the passage of financial bills between the Houses before turning to the subject of statutory instruments and the Executive’s increasing reliance on them as a means of legislating. They conclude by examining the issues brought out by the Strathclyde Review and endorse the position of the parliamentary committees in recommending that a Joint Committee of both Houses be established to inquire into the whole area of secondary legislation and financial privilege. They stress that this is a matter for Parliament and it should act before Government takes any further steps.
This pamphlet presents the personal views of the authors and not those of The Constitution Society, which publishes it as a contribution to debate on this important subject.
This publication presents the personal views of the author and not those of The Constitution Society, which publishes it as a contribution to debate on this important subject.