Asked by: Richard Shepherd (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will review the use of subordinate legislation to amend primary legislation; and if he will propose arrangements to restrict such powers to cases of necessity.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
There is no plan to review the use of powers that allow subordinate legislation to amend primary legislation. Parliamentary Counsel and Departments work to ensure that new delegated powers are proportionate. Each Government Bill is accompanied by a memorandum explaining the delegated powers included in the Bill and explaining why they are necessary.
Asked by: Richard Shepherd (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what arrangements are in place for Parliamentary Counsel to refer to the Law Officers proposals for legislation which appear to Parliamentary Counsel to be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights but objectionable on fundamental grounds of fairness or legislative propriety.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
All Government Bills are subject to collective agreement and as part of this process the Law Officers’ offices are consulted. All Bills are published along with a statement of compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights and most Bills are accompanied by a memorandum setting out the interaction with Convention rights.
Asked by: Richard Shepherd (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what arrangements are in place to ensure that the drafting of statutory guidance, codes of practice and other forms of secondary legislation is of a consistent quality across Government and fit for purpose.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The drafting of secondary legislation is the responsibility of lawyers in Government Departments. The Government Legal Service runs a structured training programme, and produces comprehensive guidance on drafting statutory instruments. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel also makes its drafting guidance available to Departmental lawyers.
Asked by: Richard Shepherd (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Acts of Parliament in the present Parliament included a power for Ministers to make supplementary and incidental provision by secondary legislation for the purpose of giving full effect to the Act or for similar purposes; and if he will make arrangements to restrict instances of those powers to cases where they can be justified by urgency or other factors preventing the Bill for the Act from dealing fully with consequential and incidental matters.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The United Kingdom has an extensive statute book, which extends back hundreds of years, so Government Bills often need make provision against the background of this complex legislative landscape. Powers to make supplementary and incidental provision by secondary legislation are often needed to ensure that an Act produces the result intended by Parliament.
Asked by: Richard Shepherd (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes have been made in the structure and working arrangements of the Parliamentary Counsel Office in the present Parliament; and what steps have been taken to ensure that those changes do not adversely affect the quality of legislative drafting.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel continue to draft all Government Bills. The teams within the office are allocated to departments. This helps to build strong working relationships with departmental officials and legal advisors. Within the office there are arrangements in place to share expertise and identify key lessons from each Bill.
Asked by: Richard Shepherd (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which recommendations of Lord Renton's Report on the Preparation of Legislation, Cmnd. 6053, published in 1975, have yet to be implemented; and what arrangements are proposed for the implementation of those recommendations.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
Lord Renton’s report provides valuable lessons on how legislation is prepared and since its publication in 1975 there have many more similar reports. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel are leading the Good Law initiative to help ensure that law is necessary, clear, coherent, effective and accessible. As part of our commitment to achieve better legislation, this Government has published record numbers of Bills in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny.