Orders in council

• Who makes orders in council?

  The privy council
• Describe the anatomy of the privy council?

  The privy council is a group of people close to the monarch, it consists of the prime minister, and the cabinet ministers.
• What does an Order in council allow the government to do?

  It allows the government to make legislation without it having to be debated or voted on in parliament. As such, orders in council can be made on a wide range of matters.
• What are the main 3 purposes of orders in council?

  Transferring responsibility between government departments

  Bringing acts, or parts of acts, of parliament into force

  To make law in emergencies

  To make other types of law
• What is an example of when an order in council was responsible for the transferring of responsibility between government departments?

  when the Ministry of Justice was created, the powers of the previous Department of Constitutional Affairs and some of the powers of the Home Office were transferred to this new ministry.
• Which legislation allows the law to be made in emergencies under an order In council?

  The civil contingencies act 2004
• Give an example of when an order in council was used to make another type of law.

  In 2003, an Order in Council was used to alter the

  Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to downgrade cannabis

  to a Class C drug. Five years later the government

  decided that it had been a mistake and another

  Order in Council was issued, upgrading cannabis

  back to a Class B drug