Controls on Delegated Legislation: Parliament

• Enabling Act

  • Sets out who has the power to make delegated legislation and the procedure they must follow
  • Some enabling acts specify a period of consultation is necessary with those of relevant expertise before any laws are made
  • Changes made to the Act must be known to the public
  • Parliament can remove powers in the enabling act as well as being able to limit or extend them
• Affirmative and Negative Resolution procedures

  • Negative resolution procedure - Allows MPs to put down a notion to annul the DL within 40 days, no exceptions means it is permanent
  • Affirmative resolution procedure - If the SI is controversial, Parliament will put an instruction in the Enabling Act that an affirmative resolution must be passed; this must be approved within 28-40 days, debated and voted upon
  • Super affirmative resolution procedures - Not a procedure to pass, but to change or annul, this reduces Parliamentary control and allows ministers to make changes if within 60 of creation
• Scrutiny Committees

  • Joint committee on SI - Contains members from HoC and HoL, responsible for checking SIs, if there are any errors, they can report findings to Parliament but cannot make amendments; scrutinise legislation and identify any instrument which is unclear, imposes a tax/fine, gone beyond powers of enabling act
  • HoL delegated powers scrutiny committee - Keep under constant review the extent to which legislative power are delegated by Parliament to government ministers
  • HoL merits of SI committee - Examine content of SI that is subject to change