Delegated Legislation:
What is Delegated Legislation?
- Delegated legislation is where parliament gives its law-making power to others to make laws.
Why is Delegated Legislation used?
- Parliament does not have the time or expertise to pass every law that is necessary each year.
- It would be difficult for parliament to make laws for your local area because the Members of Parliament would
not have the local knowledge necessary to understand what laws are necessary in a given area.
- Parliament do not have enough time to consider every small change that is necessary to update existing laws.
- Allows for laws to be made by experts in the fields and not just politicians
- Allows for laws to be passed quickly perhaps in times of crisis – war [e.g.- COVID-19 Act 2020]
3 types of Delegated Legislation:
- Bylaws, Statutory Instruments and Orders in Council
Bylaws
- Made by local councils and other public bodies
- Examples: No drinking areas, fines for dog fouling
- The council will be granted this power in an enabling Act [e.g.- Local Government Act 1972]
- Public Corporations such as the bus and train services can impose fines for non-payment of fares.
Statutory Instruments:
- Rules made by government departments to implement the changes made in Acts of Parliament
- Some Acts of Parliament allow for future changes to be made to the law by government ministers and their
departments.
- Saves parliament from having to re-write an entire Act just to make some small changes.
- Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 - Allows the Home Secretary to add more breeds of dangerous dog to the Act if it
is deemed necessary.
- Codes of practice which the Minister for Justice has the power to make or change rules relating to police
powers. These add detail to the powers of the police as laid out in PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence
Act) 1984.
- Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, all ministers can make changes to existing Acts even when
there is no power mentioned in the Act.
- Only make changes if it will remove or reduce a ‘burden’ from the legislation e.g. a financial cost, an
administrative inconvenience, an obstacle to efficiency or a sanction which affects the carrying on of an
unlawful activity.
Orders in Council:
- Made by the Privy Council
- Privy Council is made up of senior politicians who have the authority to make laws without the need for the
whole of parliament to be sitting
- used in times of emergency under the Emergency Powers Act 1920 [e.g. during the outbreak of foot and
mouth disease in 2001, the Privy Council passed laws to reduce the spread of the disease]
- also used to transfer responsibility between government departments especially when new departments are
set up [e.g. when the Ministry of Justice was created; some of its powers were transferred from the Home
Office and the Department of Constitutional Affairs]
- Some Acts of Parliament specify that changes can be made to the law by the Privy Council.
- Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 - Enabled Privy Council to change the classification of cannabis from class B -
class C.
- Then used the same Act to change it back to class B.
- Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - Allows the Privy Council to alter the number of judges in the Supreme
Court.
What is Delegated Legislation?
- Delegated legislation is where parliament gives its law-making power to others to make laws.
Why is Delegated Legislation used?
- Parliament does not have the time or expertise to pass every law that is necessary each year.
- It would be difficult for parliament to make laws for your local area because the Members of Parliament would
not have the local knowledge necessary to understand what laws are necessary in a given area.
- Parliament do not have enough time to consider every small change that is necessary to update existing laws.
- Allows for laws to be made by experts in the fields and not just politicians
- Allows for laws to be passed quickly perhaps in times of crisis – war [e.g.- COVID-19 Act 2020]
3 types of Delegated Legislation:
- Bylaws, Statutory Instruments and Orders in Council
Bylaws
- Made by local councils and other public bodies
- Examples: No drinking areas, fines for dog fouling
- The council will be granted this power in an enabling Act [e.g.- Local Government Act 1972]
- Public Corporations such as the bus and train services can impose fines for non-payment of fares.
Statutory Instruments:
- Rules made by government departments to implement the changes made in Acts of Parliament
- Some Acts of Parliament allow for future changes to be made to the law by government ministers and their
departments.
- Saves parliament from having to re-write an entire Act just to make some small changes.
- Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 - Allows the Home Secretary to add more breeds of dangerous dog to the Act if it
is deemed necessary.
- Codes of practice which the Minister for Justice has the power to make or change rules relating to police
powers. These add detail to the powers of the police as laid out in PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence
Act) 1984.
- Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, all ministers can make changes to existing Acts even when
there is no power mentioned in the Act.
- Only make changes if it will remove or reduce a ‘burden’ from the legislation e.g. a financial cost, an
administrative inconvenience, an obstacle to efficiency or a sanction which affects the carrying on of an
unlawful activity.
Orders in Council:
- Made by the Privy Council
- Privy Council is made up of senior politicians who have the authority to make laws without the need for the
whole of parliament to be sitting
- used in times of emergency under the Emergency Powers Act 1920 [e.g. during the outbreak of foot and
mouth disease in 2001, the Privy Council passed laws to reduce the spread of the disease]
- also used to transfer responsibility between government departments especially when new departments are
set up [e.g. when the Ministry of Justice was created; some of its powers were transferred from the Home
Office and the Department of Constitutional Affairs]
- Some Acts of Parliament specify that changes can be made to the law by the Privy Council.
- Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 - Enabled Privy Council to change the classification of cannabis from class B -
class C.
- Then used the same Act to change it back to class B.
- Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - Allows the Privy Council to alter the number of judges in the Supreme
Court.
