Joint Committee on the Draft Deregulation Bill - Report
Draft Deregulation Bill

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Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Lords and the House of Commons to be printed 11 December 2013.

Contents

Terms of Reference

Summary

1 Introduction and Background

The Government's Regulatory Reform Agenda

Overview of the draft Deregulation Bill

Purpose

A portmanteau bill

Procedure of the Committee

Evidence gathering

Length of the inquiry

The Committee's approach

Structure of the report

Devolution issues

Acknowledgements

Joint Committee interests

Abbreviations

2 Order-Making Power and other provisions relating to Parliament

Introduction

Order-making power in the draft Bill

Clause 51

Safeguards

Schedule 16

Objections to the order-making power

The power is too wide?

Width of the power

Adequacy of the safeguards

An inappropriate Parliamentary scrutiny procedure?

Henry VIII powers

Procedure proposed for the order-making power

Will the draft negative procedure do?

The disadvantages of repealing primary legislation by order

Risk of judicial review

Secondary legislation: all or nothing

The power is unnecessary?

Primary legislation

Secondary legislation

Conclusion with regard to the order-making power

Can the order-making power be redeemed?

An acceptable order-making power?

Other provisions in the draft Bill which has the effect of reducing Parliamentary scrutiny

Inappropriate delegations: clauses 7 and 48

Delegations requiring some sort of Parliamentary scrutiny

3 Economic Growth Duty

Introduction

Economic growth duty in the draft Bill

Clauses 58 and 59

Clause 60

Background to the duty

The desirability of a statutory growth duty

Deregulatory extent of the duty

Regulators in scope

Sustainable growth

Measurement of the effect of the duty

4 Use of Land Provisions

Introduction

Background

Stakeholder Working Group

Consultation

Importance of the "package" remaining as a whole

Provisions in the draft Bill

Ongoing discussions

Costs and backlog

Calls for wider reform

Proposals for additional reform

BOATS and UCRs

Objections to additional reform

Root and branch reform?

5 Other Provisions

Our approach

Evidence base for the draft Bill

Consultation Principles

Adequacy of the consultation on specific clauses

Order-making power

Clause 9

Clause 28

Clause 40

Government response

Conclusions on consultation

Deregulatory extent of the draft Bill generally

Whether particular clauses are deregulatory

Order-making power and growth duty

Clause 29

Clause 33 and Schedule 14

Other clauses

Conclusions on deregulatory extent

Wider concerns

Clause 1

Clause 2

Clause 3

Clause 9

Clause 28

Clause 33 and schedule 14

Clause 35

Clause 40

Clause 47

Conclusion on the wider concerns

Conclusions and recommendations

Appendix 1: Members and Interests

Appendix 2: Call for written evidence

Appendix 3: Witnesses

Appendix 4: Written evidence

Appendix 5: Evidence from Parliamentary Committees

Appendix 6: Letters from the Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke QC MP, Minister without Portfolio, Cabinet Office

Appendix 7: List of abbreviations

Appendix 8: Supplementary evidence from the Cabinet Office—Type of consultation taken for measures contained with the Bill

Appendix 9: Formal Minutes



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Prepared 19 December 2013