Delegated Legislation Evaluation

KEY - ACT   CASE  STATS

Advantages of Delegated Legislation

Time Saving: Parliament needs DL because they don't have time to go through the complex stages of making an act for every single piece of legislation that is needed. For example, there are over 3000 SI's and many Bylaws made each year, compared to only 12-20 Acts of Parliament. It is better for Parliament to set the main points and let others fill in the details. E.g complex pension's regulations - over 500 pages of uncontroversial detail about pensions would not need Parliaments consideration.

Quick: DL is good for when a fast response is needed, as parliament aren't always in session and it is quicker for the monarch and the Privy Council to pass a law than to go through the complex stages of the houses. For instance, an Order in Council was issued within 2 hours of the Chernobyl disaster . Other examples of quick responses are the Petrol Crisis and the Foot and Mouth crisis.

Lack of Specialist Knowledge: Parliament do not have the expertise needed to make the finer details of the law, so it is better to delegate detailed law making to the relevant ministers in their departments. Regulations benefit from much consultation with experts, e.g complex health and safety regulations for a particular industry need specialist…