Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
(formerly Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee)
Historical Note
In January 2000, the Royal Commission
on the Reform of the House of Lords said that there was a good
case for enhanced Parliamentary scrutiny of secondary legislation
and recommended establishing a "sifting" mechanism to
identify those statutory instruments which merited further debate
or consideration. The Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee
was set up on 17 December 2003. At the start of the 2012-3 Session
the Committee was renamed to reflect the widening of its responsibilities
to include the scrutiny of Orders laid under the Public Bodies
Act 2011.
The Committee has the following terms
of reference:
(1) The Committee shall, with the exception
of those instruments in paragraphs (3) and (4), scrutinise—
(a) every instrument (whether or not
a statutory instrument), or draft of an instrument, which is laid
before each House of Parliament and upon which proceedings may
be, or might have been, taken in either House of Parliament under
an Act of Parliament;
(b) every proposal which is in the form
of a draft of such an instrument and is laid before each House
of Parliament under an Act of Parliament,
with a view to determining whether or
not the special attention of the House should be drawn to it on
any of the grounds specified in paragraph (2).
(2) The grounds on which an instrument,
draft or proposal may be drawn to the special attention of the
House are—
(a) that it is politically or legally
important or gives rise to issues of public policy likely to be
of interest to the House;
(b) that it may be inappropriate in
view of changed circumstances since the enactment of the parent
Act;
(c) that it may inappropriately implement
European Union legislation;
(d) that it may imperfectly achieve
its policy objectives;
(e) that the explanatory material laid
in support provides insufficient information to gain a clear understanding
about the instrument's policy objective and intended implementation;
(f) that there appear to be inadequacies
in the consultation process which relates to the instrument.
(3) The exceptions are—
(a) remedial orders, and draft remedial
orders, under section 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998;
(b) draft orders under sections 14 and
18 of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, and subordinate
provisions orders made or proposed to be made under the Regulatory
Reform Act 2001;
(c) Measures under the Church of England
Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 and instruments made, and drafts of
instruments to be made, under them.
(4) The Committee shall report on draft
orders and documents laid before Parliament under section 11(1)
of the Public Bodies Act 2011 in accordance with the procedures
set out in sections 11(5) and (6). The Committee may also consider
and report on any material changes in a draft order laid under
section 11(8) of the Act.
(5) The Committee shall also consider
such other general matters relating to the effective scrutiny
of secondary legislation and arising from the performance of its
functions under paragraphs (1) to (4) as the Committee considers
appropriate, except matters within the orders of reference of
the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.
Members
Baroness Andrews Lord
Eames Baroness Stern
Lord Bichard Rt Hon. Lord
Goodlad (Chairman) Lord Plant of Highfield
Lord Borwick Baroness
Hamwee Lord Woolmer of Leeds
Lord Bowness Baroness
Humphreys
Registered interests
Information about interests of Committee
Members can be found in Appendix 6.
Publications
The Committee's Reports are published
on the internet at www.parliament.uk/seclegpublications
Information and Contacts
If you have a query about the Committee's
work, or opinions on any new item of secondary legislation, please
contact the Clerk of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee,
Legislation Office, House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW; telephone
020-7219 8821; fax 020-7219 2571; email seclegscrutiny@parliament.uk.
Statutory instruments
The National Archives publishes statutory
instruments on the internet at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/,
together with a plain English explanatory memorandum.
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