Delegated Legislation

• Queen and Privy council
• Allows the govenment to make laws without going though paliament
• gove legal effect to European Directives
• Transfering responsibility between Government departments
• Binging acts of Parliament into force
• Make law in emergencies when parliament are not sitting
• Alter the classification of Cannabis
• Alte the number of judges in the supreme court

• Government Ministers
• juristiction over regulations under their particular responsibility
• 15 departments in the government
• very short covering one point eg change in mimimum wadge
• may be very long, detailed, to complex to include in an act of parliament eg police codes of practice
• major way of law making - 3000 made each year

• local authorities
• cover matters within their own area
• county council - affecting thw whole county
• dostric/town council - affect the distric/town
• traffic contol - parking regulations
• drinking in public places 
• public corporations for matters within there juristiction involving the public
• enforce rules about public behaviour on their premises

Enabling Act

• Sets out the limits of the power that they enable
• have the power to amend or repel Act
•  power may be limited or very wide

Delegated Power Scrutiny Committee

• in the House of Lords
•  considers the provisions of any Bill going through parliament delegating power inappropriatly. Report
• reports findings to House of Lords
• No power to amend Bill
• Check to make sure that powers are not being used wrongly
• Few ways of checking on delegated legislations:
  • Affirmative Resolution
  • Negative Resolution 
  • Joint Select Committee on Statutory Instruments

Affirmative

• Small number of statutory instruments are subject to this
• Will not become law unless specifically approved by Parliament
• Need for this will be state in the enabling act
• Parliament cannot amend the statutory instrument, only approve, annaul or withdraw

Negative

• most other statutory instruments
• will become law unless rejected by parliament within 40 days
• very view will actually be looked at

• act that sets out procedures for the making of statutory instruments aimed at repealing an existing law in order to remove a 'buren':
  • (a) a financial cost
  • (b) administrative inconvenience
  • (c) obstacle to efficiency, productivity or profitability
  • (d) sanction, criminal or otherwise, affecting the carrying on of lawful activity
• Ministers who make statutory instruments must consult variouse people and organisations:
  • orgs. representative of intrests affecte by the proposal (unions about pentions)
  • welsh assembly relating to matters upon the assembly exercise functions
  • law commission

Orders mae under this power of this Act must be laid before Parliament. 3 possible procedures:

• 1) Negative Resolution Procedure - will be used unless within 30 days one of the houses of parliament object to this. 
• 2) Affirmative Resolution Procedure - requires both houses of parliament to approve the order
• 3) Super-Affirmative Procedure - under this the minister must have regard to - any representation, resolution of either HoP or recomendation by a committee of either HoP who are asked to report on the draft order

• more effective check
• committee reviews all statutory instruments
• when necessary draw the attention of both houses of parliament
• points that need futher consieration
• technical review - not based on policy
• The main grounds for referring a statutory instrument back to the Houses of Parliament are:
  • It imposes a tax or charge - only elected bodies can do that
  • has retrospective effects which wern't provided for by the enabling act
  • gone beyond the powers delgated under the enabling act
  • makes unusual or unexpected use of those powers
  • unclear or defective in some way
• can only report back its findings, no power to alter any statutory instument

• saves parliamentary time - dont sit all year and dont have time to debate everything
• need for technical experties - parliament dont know the technical knowledge for some sertain legislations. local knowledge is needed for parking restricions and direct knowledge may be needed eg in health. leave details to be filled in by thouse who know what they are doing
• Allows consultation - ministers can have consultation before regulations are drawn up. rules on technical matters, where it is neccessary to make sure regulations are workable
• Allows quick law making- times of emergency, parliament take a long time
• Easy to amend - or reviked easily when neccessary so law is up to date, respond to new unforseen sistuations.

• Law making away from democracy - people who are unelected making law, acceptable providing sufficient control is given to parliament, but control is fairly limited, refering to orders in council and statutory instruments
• Sub deligation - law making authority is handed down to another level, much of our law is made by civil servents 
• Large Volume - hard to find the present law, lack of publicity, made in private
• Obscure wording - same as acts in parliament, lead to difficulty in understanding of the law 

• Delegate legislation can be challenged in the courts on the ground that it is ULTRAL VIRES
• ULTRAL VIRES means goes beyond the power that parliament granted in the enabling act
• Validity of delegated legislation may be challenged through the judicial review proceure
• Any delegate legislation ruled ultra vires is void and not effective
• Courts will presume that unless an enabling act expressly allows it, there is no power to do any of the following:
  • make unreasonable regulations
  • levy taxes
  • allows sub delegation
• or if the correct proceure has not been followed
• or if they conflict with European Union Legislation