Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill [HL]

Lord Hunt of Wirral Excerpts

Friday 18th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)]

My Lords, I first declare my interests as set out in the register; in particular, I have the honour to chair the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, on putting forward this measure, and I have to tell him that I am favourably disposed to his Bill. I also congratulate him on the most enjoyable journey into the history which he has given the House.

However, I speak in a personal capacity; I do not seek to speak for the committee I chair or for the party of which I am a member. Before I joined the SLSC, I was aware there were serious shortcomings in far too much of the secondary legislation that continues to burgeon under Governments of every hue. I just had no idea how serious the problem was.

I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford: the system we have is anachronistic. Despite our best efforts and those of our excellent but small team of clerks, we struggle to cope, not only with the sheer volume of secondary legislation but with its all too frequent inadequacies.

The reasons why an instrument might fall short are set out in the terms of reference of the SLSC, in section 3. Despite repeated ministerial undertakings, inadequate explanatory material is the principal culprit—seemingly an endemic problem across almost every government department.

I am very proud of the work we do and of the absence of partisanship across the committee. However, if the ever-expanding reliance upon secondary legislation is now to be a fact of life, we can no longer rely on rules and conventions designed for an earlier era. Although we provide a useful service to the House in pointing out when an SI falls short on one of the grounds, it is frustrating that in response to that scrutiny this House can do no more than object in the form of a regret Motion. It would improve the quality of secondary legislation and the balance of power between the legislature and the Executive if there were a stronger mechanism for the House to object to an SI, while still falling short of rejecting it altogether. This is exactly what the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, is proposing. I congratulate him on his initiative and look forward very much indeed to hearing the Minister.