Advantages of DL

Question 1

Intro

Answer 1

Delegated Legislation (DL) is when Parliament passes down the power to make laws to another authority or person under a Parent Act (an Act of Parliament). There are many advantages to DL for Parliament and for the public.

Question 2

ADVANTAGE NO.1

saves time and money

Answer 2

The first advantage is that it saves Parliamentary time and money. Only 70-80 bills make it to become Acts of Parliament (AOP) each year meaning Parliament does not have the time available to legislate on every issue.

[Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (185 pages long)]

Question 3

ADVANTAGE NO.2

quick in times of emergency

Answer 3

Another advantage is that it is quick in an emergency. An act of Parliament takes around 9 months to become law. In comparison, DL (especially Orders-In-Council) can be created very quickly in response to a serious, time-sensitive issue.

[Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Amendment)(No.10) Order 2004]

Question 4

ADVANTAGE NO.3:

allows for local knowledge

Answer 4

Also, DL (most notably by-laws) allows for a use of local knowledge. DL allows Local Councils/Organisations to make laws on local issues. As these bodies are well versed in the issues affecting the local area and how to solve them, they are the best people to legislate on them.

[Wirral Council - Local Government Act 1972 - regulations on street drinking/parking]

Question 5

ADVANTAGE NO.4:

allows for expert technical knowledge

Answer 5

Finally, DL ( most notably SIs) can allow for expert technical knowledge. The Parent Act can require the minister making the SI consults technical experts before they legislate on an issue.

[Road Traffic act 1998 - Crash Helmets]

Question 6

DISADVANTAGE NO.1:

undemocratic

Answer 6

One disadvantage is that it can be seen as undemocratic. Some of the organisations making DL are not elected by the public and there isn’t a lot of control over the laws they make.

[Merseytravel is a company]

Question 7

DISADVANTAGE NO.2:

lack of public awareness

Answer 7

Another disadvantage is the lack of public awareness. A lot of the public know nothing about DL and it can even be quite difficult for legal personnel to find out much about DL in a local area.

[Parent Act doesnt list the SI, Orders-In-Council have only been centrally recorded since 2010, local authorities have different rules on publishing/sorting by-laws]

Question 8

DISADVANTAGE NO.3:

sub-delegation

Answer 8

Sub-delegation is another disadvantage of DL. Even when government ministers are specifically given the power to create SI, they often sub-delegate the power to staff in their departments. This means that a lot of DL is created by unelected officials and not by the directly-elected people who were given it in the first place.

Question 9

DISADVANTAGE NO.4:

lack of proper scrutiny

Answer 9

One final disadvantage of DL is the lack of proper scrutiny. The huge volume of delegated laws made a year makes it hard to properly scrutinise them, despite the controls exuded by Parliament and the Judiciary. Around 3000 SIs are created each year and there are around 343 councils in England, all creating by-laws, which makes it near impossible for all pieces of DL to be properly scrutinised.

[1/4 of Negative Resolutions]