This is a House of Lords and House of Commons Committee Joint Report.
Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
Date Published: 13 May 2022
At its meeting on 11 May 2022 the Committee scrutinised a number of instruments in accordance with Standing Orders. It was agreed that the special attention of both Houses should be drawn to one of those considered. The instrument and the grounds for reporting it are given below. The relevant departmental memorandum is published as an appendix to this report.
1.1The Committee draws the special attention of both Houses to these Regulations on the ground that they fail to comply with proper legislative practice in one respect.
1.2 These Regulations, which are subject to the negative resolution procedure, amend the M271 Motorway (Junction 1 to Redbridge Roundabout) (Fixed Speed Limits) Regulations 2021 (“the Principal Regulations”) so as to provide for the 50mph speed limit on the on-slip road at Junction 1 to start 55 metres nearer its merger with the southbound carriageway. Paragraph 7.1 of the Explanatory Memorandum explains that this instrument was required to remedy an error in the Principal Regulations. The Committee accordingly asked the Department for Transport to explain whether the S.I. Registrar was consulted as to whether the free issue procedure should apply. In a memorandum printed as an Appendix, the Department asserts that the free issue procedure did not apply as the Principal Regulations were not “defective in law”, and questions the utility of the free issue procedure on the ground that few people nowadays buy individual copies of statutory instruments. The latter point is one that the Committee made in its First Special Report of Session 2017–19, Transparency and Accountability in Subordinate Legislation at paragraphs 3.16 to 3.25, where the Committee suggested a more modern and effective procedure. Until the Government institutes a new procedure, however, free issue remains the only mechanism for alerting users to an instrument which, as in this case, is designed to rectify an error in the implementation of the originally intended policy. The Committee is not sure what the Department means by “defective in law”, and as discussed in its Special Report does not wish to be prescriptive about the situations to which the free issue procedure should apply: but in the case of a simple error of the kind described in the Explanatory Memorandum, the Committee is clear that the public are entitled to have it remedied without charge, and the free issue procedure should have been applied. The Committee accordingly reports these Regulations for failure to comply with proper legislative practice.
At its meeting on 11 May 2022 the Committee considered the instruments set out in the Annex to this Report, none of which was required to be reported to both Houses.
S.I. Numbers |
S.I. Title |
S.I. 2022/452 |
Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 8) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. Numbers |
S.I. Title |
Draft |
Passport (Fees) Regulations 2022 |
Draft |
Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2022 |
Draft |
Public Procurement (International Trade Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. Numbers |
S.I. Title |
S.I. 2022/216 |
Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order 2022 |
S.I. 2022/267 |
Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) (Amendment) Order 2022 |
S.I. 2022/273 |
National Health Service Pension Schemes (Member Contributions etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/276 |
Social Security Contributions (Disregarded Payments) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/295 |
Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/298 |
Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/301 |
Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/307 |
National Insurance Contributions Act 2022 (Application of Part 1) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/313 |
Social Security Contributions (Freeports) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/318 |
National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/320 |
Teachers’ Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/330 |
Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/339 |
Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) and Persons subject to Immigration Control (Housing Authority Accommodation and Homelessness) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/354 |
Further Education Loans (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/366 |
Extradition Act 2003 (Part 1 Territories) (Designation of Prosecutors) (Scotland) Order 2022 |
S.I. 2022/369 |
Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (England) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/380 |
Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/391 |
M5 Motorway (Junctions 1 to 3) (60 Miles Per Hour Speed Limit) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/398 |
National Security and Investment Act 2021 (Prescribed Form and Content of Notices and Validation Applications) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. Numbers |
S.I. Title |
S.R. 2022/128 |
Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 |
S.I. Numbers |
S.I. Title |
S.I. 2022/289 |
Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records and Registration) (Guernsey) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/290 |
Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records and Registration) (Isle of Man) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/291 |
Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records and Registration) (Jersey) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/381 |
Statutory Sick Pay (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Waiting Days) (Saving Provision) Regulations 2022 |
S.I. 2022/399 |
Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (Indexation of Annual Chargeable Amounts) Order 2022 |
1. The Committee has asked the Department for Transport for a memorandum on the following point:
Given that these Regulations correct an error, explain whether the S.I. Registrar was consulted as to whether the free issue procedure should apply.
2. The S.I. Registrar was not consulted as to whether the free issue procedure should apply to these amendment Regulations.
3. The Department does not consider that S.I. 2021/82 (“the principal Regulations”) are defective in law notwithstanding that they did not give effect to one particular aspect of the policy originally intended. Accordingly the Department does not consider that paragraph 4.7.6 (free replacement copies) of the Statutory Instrument Practice applies to these amendment Regulations.
4. The purpose of the amendment Regulations is to allow the 50mph speed limit signs to remain at the place where they are currently sited on a slip road rather than be moved to the position provided for on that slip road by the principal Regulations. Moving the speed limit signs would have the effect of increasing the length of road which is subject to the speed limit by 55 metres.
5. The Department respectfully submits that if there were any purchasers of the principal Regulations they would not have been misled to their detriment by those Regulations. The 50mph speed limit could not have been properly enforced on the 55 metre length of road without the signs being moved.
6. The Department further submits that, on the assumption that those actually purchasing S.I.s are likely to be in a minority, consideration should perhaps be given to the merits of retaining the free issue procedure in its current form.
Department for Transport
4 April 2022
Virtual meeting
Jessica Morden, in the Chair
Lord Beith
Dr James Davies
Baroness Gale
Lord Haskel
Baroness Newlove
Lord Smith of Hindhead
Richard Thomson
Draft Report, proposed by the Chair, brought up and read.
Ordered, That the draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraphs 1.1 to 1.2 read and agreed to.
Annex agreed to.
A paper was appended to the Report as Appendix 1.
Resolved, That the Report be the First Report of the Committee to both Houses.
Ordered, That the Chair make the Report to the House of Commons and that the Report be made to the House of Lords.
Adjourned till Wednesday 18 May at 3.40 p.m.