delegated legislation

• Delegated Legislation (DL) is legislation created by someone other than parliament but with their authority, usually contained within a parent act or an enabling act
• Advantages of delegated legislation:

  • Saves parliamentary time
  • Access to technical expertise
  • Allows consultation
  • Allows quick law making
  • Easy to amend
• DL is needed because it saves time, deals with complex issues, is quick to amend, allows a fast response, caters to local needs, and utilizes expert/local knowledge
• Disadvantages of delegated legislation:

  • Undemocratic
  • Sub-delegation and 'rubber-stamping'
  • Large volume and lack of publicity
  • Complex
• Parliament has initial control over what powers are delegated as they create the enabling act, and they can repeal any powers they have created
• Orders in Council are made by the monarch and Privy Council, allowing the government to make laws without going through parliament, with around 3000 made every year
• Statutory Instruments (SIs) can be short or detailed, like police codes of practice, and are made by ministers and government departments to regulate areas under their responsibility
• Ultra Vires in DL means going beyond the powers given by parliament, being ruled void if found to have gone beyond its power, incorrect procedure, or unreasonableness
• A piece of DL can only be challenged by a person with 'standing,' meaning they are affected by the legislation or decision
• Types of DL include Orders in Council (OIC) made for transferring responsibility between government departments, dealing with foreign affairs, giving legal effects to EU Directives, and bringing acts created by parliament into force