Disadvantages 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 disadvantages to this process.
• Evaluation 1:

  One of the main disadvantages of the Delegated Legislation Process is that it is undemocratic. This is as those with the power to create Delegated Legislation are often not elected into their positions by the public. As such, there isn't a lot of control over the laws they make because the cannot 'vote out' organisations who make unsatisfactory rules like with democratically elected Government showing a lack of democratic accountability making it unconstitutional.
• Evaluation 1:

  For example, train companies creating Delegated Legislation under the Railways Act 1993 are private companies, which the public get no say over, however the public must abide by their By-Laws. There is no way to control them or vote them out if they create unfair Laws.
• Evaluation 2:

  Another disadvantage is that there is a lack of public awareness when it comes to delegated legislation. Generally, delegated legislation is not well publicised. Often, the public don't know about delegated legislation or of its existence and can be extremely difficult to obtain information. For By-Laws there is no central list and Local Councils have different rules on publishing and storing By-Laws.
• Evaluation 2:

  Together, these issues make it exceptionally difficult to identify and establish if it has been broken. Members of the public may break a piece of delegated legislation simply because they didn't know it was in place which can be unfair.
• Evaluation 3:

  There is also an issue with the concept of sub-delegation. This is the notion that, when Parliament authorises and passes down power to another body to create delegated legislation, that power is then further passed down. This is often seen in the making of Statutory Instruments where Government Ministers will sub-delegate (pass their law making powers) to civil servants.
• Evaluation 3:

  This not only raises an issue of accountability, but shows that those given the power to create delegated legislation are either not using the power correctly, do not have the time to use the powers, or are lacking the knowledge in their own department to implement the legislation needed. For example, the Education Act 2002 allows Ministers to create the National Curriculum, but this would require an in-depth knowledge of all areas of study in the country.
• Evaluation 4:

  A final disadvantage is that delegated legislation as a whole lacks scrutiny. Parliament does not have time to properly scrutinise delegated legislation based on the sheer volume created. There are around 3000+ Statutory Instruments created each year which can cause complexity.
• Evaluation 4:

  Additionally, unlike primary legislation, few are debated in Parliament so not subjected to greater scrutiny meaning there can be oversights and mistakes missed. Statutory instruments undergoing negative resolution may slip through the net simply by not being challenged within 40 days. Although there is the Scrutiny committee to review Statutory instruments, they are known as the 'toothless watchdog' as they can refer to Parliament but that is the only power they have.