Government Bills: Drafting Guidance

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

I am pleased to announce that new guidance has today been published by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel recommending that powers to make delegated legislation conferred by Government Bills should generally take the form of regulation-making powers and not order-making powers.

At the moment, Government Bills often give Ministers the power to make delegated legislation by order or by regulations but there is no clear distinction between these two forms. The guidance, which will affect the drafting of Government Bills introduced in the next session of Parliament, will make a modest contribution to simplifying legislation and eliminating a source of potential confusion for readers who are currently faced with two forms of delegated legislation where one would do.

One area where the new practice may be particularly noticeable is that Bills will provide for commencement regulations rather than commencement orders. The recommendation will not affect rules or Orders in Council.

Copies of the new guidance will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. The latest drafting guidance can also be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-bills-for-parliament