Advantages D.L - Model Answer

• Delegated Legislation is the process by which laws are created by bodies and organisations other than the Government. This can be done in one of three ways, Orders in Council, Statutory Instrument or By-Law. There are a number of advantages to this process.
• Evaluation 1:

  Firstly, the process of Delegated Legislation is efficient as it saves time and money. This is because Local Authorities, Businesses and Corporations are given the power to create Laws, rather than Parliament creating them. This saves a great amount of time for Parliament, stopping them from having to go through the time-consuming process of Parliamentary Law Making. This is an advantage as it allows Parliament to be able to focus on bigger issues.
• Evaluation 1:

  Also, a lot of Delegated Legislation is very straightforward and therefore does not require the long process under Parliamentary Law Making. An example would be the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulation which allows Statutory Instruments to quickly update Regulations. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 allows the Minister for Work and Pensions to create a Statutory Instrument which increases the Minimum Wage each year.
• Evaluation 2:

  Another advantage is that Delegated Legislation can be made extremely quickly in emergency situations. Obviously, in situations where a fast response is needed to reduce the effect of a situation, this is a distinct advantage. Delegated Legislation allows for the Parliamentary Law-Making process to be avoided, which takes approximately 9 months to go through, whereas Delegated Legislation can be made much quicker.
• Evaluation 2:

  For example, the Food Protection (Emergency Provisions) Order, an Order in Council, became Law within 2 hours and the Health Protection (Coronavirus)

  Regulations 2020 Statutory Instrument was introduced within one week.
• Evaluation 3:

  Also, unlike other Law-Making processes, the Delegated Legislation procedures allow for those with Expert Knowledge on problem areas to be involved in the consultation and creation of the new Legislation. This is usually down to Local Councils and Local Organisations, as they will have specific knowledge on the issues that are faced in their local areas and what can be done about them. It would be impossible for the Government to know all the issues in all the small areas of the country and how to deal with these, therefore it is essential that local Laws can be made.
• Evaluation 3:

  For example, Local Authorities can use the Local Government Act 1972 to introduce Laws on issues like street drinking and the Railways Act 1993 can be used by train companies to manage their trains and train stations.
• Evaluation 4:

  Finally, a last advantage is that Delegated Legislation focuses on Details, meaning Parliament can focus on broader policies. As Parliament have a great workload to deal with, it is often better for them to create Acts of Parliament which give wide, broad policies, then allowing others to add detail. This again is an advantage as it allows for Parliament to save time, but it should also result in more accurate, useable and affective Legislation being created.
• Evaluation 4:

  This is as those that the powers are delegated to usually have specific knowledge and understanding in the area which they are working in, which Parliament do not have. This can be seen through the Road Traffic Act 1988, which Parliament introduced creating the requirement for motorcyclist to wear helmets, although the helmet specifications were regulated by industry specialists.