Controls (Q2) Parliamentary control on DL

Question 1

1. Enabling Act

Answer 1

The enabling/parent act
- The initial parent act gives Parliament the initial control over what powers are delegated, as it is this that sets out the limits within which any delegated legislation must be made.
- For example, the Act will state which government minister can make the regulations, the types of laws that can be made and whether they can be made for the whole country or only certain places. It can also set out whether the government department must consult other people before making the regulations. Parliament can also repeal (take away) the powers in a parent act at any time.

Question 2

2. Affirmative procedure

Answer 2

-Some Statutory Instruments are required to have an Affirmative Resolution, which means they are required to be approved by Parliament before they become law. They will not become law until approved by Parliament. If this is the case, it will be stated in the parent act. E.g. changes to PACE 1984 require an affirmative resolution before they can come into effect. Affirmative resolutions only have a limited effect as they apply only to a small number of statutory instruments and Parliament cannot amend them but simply approve, annul (cancel) or withdraw them.

Question 3

3. Negative procedure

Answer 3

-Some Statutory Instruments are required to have a Negative Resolution which means the Statutory Instrument is laid before Parliament for 40 days. During this time either House of Parliament can annul the Instrument. All members of both Houses can put down a ‘prayer’ calling for annulment. If either House votes to pass the ‘prayer’ then the Statutory Instrument does not become law. More often than not, the Statutory Instrument is not annulled so is passed after 40 days.

Question 4

4. Scrutiny Committee

Answer 4

-Another Parliamentary control is the Scrutiny Committee. This was established in 1973 to review all Statutory Instruments and where necessary bring the
following to Parliament’s attention. If the Statutory Instrument imposes a tax or charge; has retrospective effect; goes beyond the powers in the parent act; makes unusual use of its powers; or is unclear or defective. The Scrutiny Committee can only report back its findings to Parliament. It does not have any power to change or stop the Statutory Instrument.

Question 5

5. Publication

Answer 5

-The final Parliamentary control is publication. The Statutory Instruments Act 1946 states all Statutory Instruments must be published to be fully effective. This does not mean everyone will be aware of them, but everyone will have access to them to find out how it could impact on them.