Controlling Delegated Legislation

• Consultation
  • Experts are usually consulted before the Delegated Legislation is passed therefore technical details should be okay.
• Publication
  • All Delegated Legislation is available for public scrutiny.

Limits of Initial Controls.

• There is too much Delegated Legislation
  • 3000 Statutory Instruments alone are made each year.
• Few people look up, and read the Delegated Legislation.

• Enabling Act
• Affirmative resolutions
  • Parliament has to specifically approve an SI before it is accepted as law.
• Negative Resolutions
  • An SI will become law unless rejected by Parliament within 40 days.
• Delegated Powers Scrutiny Committee
  • Looks at the Enabling Act
• Scrutiny Committee
  • Is a law unclear, retrospective, ultra vires, or imposing a tax?

Limits on Parliamentary Controls

• Enabling Acts are often too broad for Parliament to stop something they dislike.
• Negative/Affirmative resolutions are good, yet only allow Parliament to accept or deny a law, as opposed to amend it.
• Scrutiny Committee can not amend laws, and can only refer back to Parliament.

Judicial Review looks at whether a law is beyond its power - Ultra vires.

• Substantive Ultra Vires
  • The Enabling Act didn't give them the power to pass that specific Delegated Legislation.
  • Strickland vs. Hayes Borough Council - he Council tried to ban swearing.
• Procedural Ultra Vires
  • There's a problem with the way the DL was made.
  • Aylesbury Mushroom Case - They didn't consult with Mushroom farmers.

Limits on Judicial Review

• Judicial Review depends on an individual starting a case.
  • Unlikely as there is too much Delegated Legislation to keep track of and people don't want to go to court.
• It's difficult for a law to be ultra vires as Enabling Acts are often so broad.