Delegated Legislation Review: Preliminary Recommendations (members’ briefing)

Events / Members

Delegated Legislation Review: Preliminary Recommendations (members’ briefing)

26 Jan 2023

The UK Houses of Parliament at dusk. CC BY-ND 2.0

Ahead of publication of the Preliminary Recommendations of the Hansard Society’s Delegated Legislation Review, Members of the Society are invited to a special pre-launch briefing to learn about the key changes that we think are needed to reform how the delegated legislation system works.

1:00pm, 26 January 2023 Private briefing for members (webinar)

Become a member

About this event

The Society’s research team will give an advance briefing to Members of the Society ahead of publication of the Preliminary Recommendations of our Delegated Legislation Review.

Over the last 12 months, we have been working with an expert Advisory Panel to develop proposals to reform how the delegated legislation system works.

This briefing will explore our key proposals that have emerged to reset the system so that it is more efficient and effective.

There will be an opportunity for Members to question the research team about the proposals and to discuss our plans for the final stage of the Review.

Key themes

We will be setting out and discussing how we propose to:

reset the boundary between what should go in Bills and what should go in Statutory Instruments (SIs);
improve scrutiny of SIs by replacing the current scrutiny model of ‘negative’, ‘affirmative’ and ‘strengthened’ procedures;
support scrutiny by introducing a sifting mechanism for all SIs;
introduce an amendment provision into the SI process;
enhance the resources available to MPs in the House of Commons to improve scrutiny of SIs (at present, legislative scrutiny is significantly under-resourced compared to select committee scrutiny);
introduce stronger safeguards around the use of SIs in an emergency.

Our Preliminary Recommendations will be published shortly to enable us to gather feedback from stakeholders inside and outside Parliament.

This briefing is an opportunity to get an early insight into the Review’s proposals, the thinking that lies behind our recommendations, and how we hope to take them forward and persuade Government and Parliament to adopt them.

Speakers

Dr Tom West Researcher and manager of the Delegated Legislation Review, Hansard Society

Dr Ruth Fox Director, Hansard Society

Who funds this work?

This work is supported by the Legal Education Foundation as part of the Hansard Society's Delegated Legislation Review.

Latest / Highlights

News / Assisted dying bill: Special series #10 - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 89

Having cleared detailed scrutiny in a Public Bill Committee, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill faces its next crucial test when it returns to the House of Commons for Report Stage on 16 May. This stage is often where Private Members' Bills falter. Will opponents of Kim Leadbeater’s proposals to legalise assisted dying win enough support to amend the Bill? Can supporters of the Bill fend off attempts to change it? And could the Bill be lost altogether, because of the procedural hurdles that still stand in its way?

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 28 April - 2 May 2025

MPs will debate the Football Governance Bill for the first time and consider controversial proposals to give government access to benefit recipients’ bank data in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. The Great British Energy Bill faces a further hurdle over modern slavery concerns in solar panel supply chains. Orders on extended VE Day pub hours and banning ‘ninja swords’ will be considered. David Lammy and Shabana Mahmood face committee scrutiny, while Richard Foord seeks to require parliamentary approval for a UK–US trade deal. Mayors Andy Burnham and Kim McGuinness will give evidence on industrial strategy, and Dr Fiona Hill will speak about social mobility and education.

News / Should Parliament roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 88

After Parliament’s rare Saturday sitting to pass the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill with minimal scrutiny, we explore concerns about rushed legislation and unchecked ministerial powers. The Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle faces criticism for allegedly protecting Keir Starmer at PMQs. Meanwhile, as MPs and Peers move to block a possible Trump address to Parliament during his second UK State Visit, we discuss who controls invitations to speak and where on the parliamentary estate.

Submissions / Evidence to the House of Commons Modernisation Committee: Priorities and strategic aims

In response to the Modernisation Committee's call for views on 17 October 2024, we submitted evidence outlining key areas we believe the Committee should prioritise. Our submission recommended a focus on: strengthening legislative scrutiny, with particular emphasis on reforming the delegated legislation system; enhancing financial scrutiny, especially in relation to the Budget and the Estimates; addressing strategic gaps in parliamentary scrutiny; making more effective use of parliamentary time; and reviewing the Standing Orders, language and rituals of the House of Commons.

Briefings / The Assisted Dying Bill: A guide to the Private Member's Bill process

This briefing explains what to watch for during the Second Reading debate of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November. It outlines the procedural and legislative issues that will come into play: the role of the Chair in managing the debate and how procedures such as the 'closure' and 'reasoned amendments' work. It looks ahead to the Committee and Report stage procedures that will apply if the Bill progresses beyond Second Reading. It also examines the government's responsibilities, such as providing a money resolution for the Bill and preparing an Impact Assessment, while addressing broader concerns about the adequacy of Private Members’ Bill procedures for scrutinising controversial issues.