evaluation of delegated legislation (12)

Question 1

what are the advantages of delegated legislation?

Answer 1

saves parliamentary time

access to techical expertise

allows consultation

allows quick law making

Question 2

what are the disadvantages of delegated legislation?

Answer 2

undemocratic

sub-delegation

difficult wording

large volume and lack of publicity

Question 3

evaluation of delegated legislation - saves parliamentary time

Answer 3

• advantage because Parliament only passes 35 acts per year on average.
• This means that it saves Parliament’s time, so they can focus on more pressing issues.
• Under delegated procedures, 3,000 statutory instruments have been passed. If these decisions were not delegated, it would mean that Parliament would simply gloss over these issues, and so many things would just never be changed.
• This is a positive as the government simply runs more effectively using delegated legislation.

advantage

Question 4

evaluation of delegated legislation - undemocratic

Answer 4

undemocratic
* The people making the majority of laws were never actually elected by the public, despite the belief in the majority of the public that this is the case.

• This is a negative as it is harder to hold people accountable for their actions if they are not in the public eye.

Question 5

evaluation of delegated legislation - access to technical expertise

Answer 5

• Another advantage is that the parliament focuses on broad policies and makes others focus on more detailed policy.
• This is done by delegating the laws to experts when there are not any MPs who are skilled or experienced in the issue at hand.
• Professionals have a better insight into the effectiveness and efficiency of different laws, so they are more qualified to make decisions about the issues at hand.
• For example, the Chemical Regulations Act used delegated legislation to consult with experts to protect the health of the public relating to chemical use, hazard, and protection.