Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
Name	Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
Established	1997
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom Parliament
Chamber	House of Commons
Members	11
Chairperson	Chair (Commons)
Website	Parliamentary webpages

Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons established to examine delegated, subordinate and secondary legislation laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom, including statutory instruments arising from Acts such as the European Communities Act 1972, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012. It provides detailed scrutiny of instruments connected to landmark measures like the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Finance Act, the Climate Change Act 2008 and the Brexit Withdrawal Act 2018, advising debates in the context of procedures used by the House of Lords and the Public Bill Committee.

Overview and Purpose

The committee's remit is to review the legal and policy implications of secondary legislation associated with statutes such as the Finance Act 2016, the Immigration Act 2014, the Education Act 2002 and the Social Security Act 2012, and to report instruments that raise issues of policy, legal clarity or rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights, and precedent from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. It focuses on statutory instruments connected to orders under the Public Bodies Act 2011, regulations under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and delegated powers used in implementation of multilateral instruments like the Paris Agreement and the World Trade Organization commitments.

Membership and Appointment

Membership typically comprises backbench MPs nominated from parties represented in the House of Commons and approved following procedures outlined by the Committee of Selection and endorsed by the Speaker of the House of Commons. Chairs have included MPs who have worked on committees such as the Treasury Committee, the Justice Committee, the International Development Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee, and members often have prior roles in the Exchequer or shadow portfolios linked to the Home Office, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education. Appointments are influenced by party balance determined after general elections like those in 2010 United Kingdom general election, 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2017 United Kingdom general election and 2019 United Kingdom general election.

Powers and Functions

The committee has powers to select statutory instruments for consideration and to draw attention to instruments by issuing reports to the House of Commons and alerting relevant departmental ministers such as those from the Treasury, the Home Office, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Transport. It considers instruments for issues relating to the Equality Act 2010, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and compliance with international obligations like the European Convention on Human Rights. While it cannot annul instruments (a power reserved to the Affirmative Resolution Procedure or the Negative Resolution Procedure), it exercises influence by tabling debates, prompting Early Day Motions and working alongside bodies such as the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, the Public Accounts Committee and the Treasury Select Committee.

Procedures and Operations

The committee meets weekly during sittings and follows procedures comparable to those of the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments and the Advisory Committee on Statutory Instruments in scrutinising instruments laid under powers in Acts like the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. It publishes reports on instruments that raise questions of retrospective effect, unusual use of delegated powers, or incompatibility with the Human Rights Act 1998, referring to legal tests set out by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and cases heard in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The committee summons departmental officials, hears oral evidence, and may collaborate with parliamentary clerks, counsel to the House of Commons and specialist advisers from institutions such as the Institute for Government and the National Audit Office.

Notable Reports and Impact

Reports by the committee have influenced revisions to orders related to the Coronavirus Act 2020, adjustments to statutory instruments under the Energy Act 2013, and clarifications in instruments implementing provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2012. Its scrutiny has led to ministerial statements and occasional remade instruments after challenge by peers in the House of Lords or by judicial review claims in the High Court of Justice. The committee's findings have been cited in debates involving the Cabinet Office, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and in policy reviews commissioned by the Prime Minister and committees such as the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

Historical Development and Reforms

Originating from concerns about the growing use of delegated legislation in the late 20th century and themes debated in reports by the Constitution Committee and the Modernisation Committee, the committee evolved through reforms after inquiries linked to the Crown Proceedings Act reforms and responses to European integration under the Single European Act. It adapted its remit following constitutional changes after the Devolution Acts for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland', the establishment of the Supreme Court and the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. Periodic reviews by the Procedure Committee and recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life have shaped its procedures, increasing transparency and prompting collaboration with institutions including the Law Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Category:Committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom