How do we celebrate similarities and not focus on differences between people from different backgrounds?

Control of Delegated Legislation by the Courts

Delegated legislation can be challenged in the High Court Queen’s Bench Division. This is known as Judicial Review. The delegated legislation can be declared ultra vires which is Latin for ‘beyond the power’ and the effect of this is to make the delegate legislation void or not effective. There are 3 types.

Procedural ultra vires. This means the minister or department has not followed the procedures set out in the Parent Act.	Aylesbury mushrooms case A training board was introduced for farmers.  The farmers themselves were then asked to pay for it.  This was all right as long as they had been consulted, but it was not all right for some mushroom growers who had not been consulted.  The court decided that they didn’t have to pay.
Substantive ultra vires. This means that the powers given to the person making the delegated legislation in the Parent Act have been exceeded.	Cure and Deeley Case (1962) Finance Act 1940 gave Customs and Excise power to make any law they wanted - charge tax when tax return was submitted late This was wrong as it gave a government department more power than Parliament Fulham Corportation The parent act gave the Council the power to build shared washing facilities for a group of houses. They actually built a launderette which the residents had to pay for. This went beyond the powers given in the parent act and this was Ultra Vires.
Unreasonableness. This means that the delegated legislation made is so unjust that no reasonable body could have made it.	Strictland v Hayes Borough Council It was unreasonable to ban people from using bad language in private when the Parent Act had given councils the power to punish people singing obscene songs generally.  The power should have been limited to public places.

Control of delegated legislation by Parliament

What can Parliament do?	Notes
Parliament passes the original Parent Act and can limit the powers given in the act at that stage.  Enabling Act	Framework for the new law. Authority for a specified person (Government minister) or body (local authority) to make further more detailed law. Specify area within the law can be made and procedures
A Statutory Instrument may be subject to the Affirmative Resolution Procedure – it will not come into force unless Parliament specifically approves it. The need for this resolution will be included in the Parent Act.	Must be approved by one or both houses. Usually 28 or 40 days. Time consuming. Can’t be changed only approved, annulled or withdrawn. Government usually gets its way because it has a majority in Parliament. Affirmative resolution is not used very often Must be debated in parliament
Most Statutory Instruments are subject to the Negative Resolution Procedure – the instrument will become law unless rejected by Parliament within 40 days.	Goes before both houses Can have a motion called a ‘prayer’ calling for annulment – there is then a debate and a vote on the annulment. If annulment is passed then doesn’t become law More often than it is passed
Joint Select Committee on Statutory Instruments (the Scrutiny Committee) reviews all Statutory Instruments and will refer them to Parliament if the go beyond the powers of the enabling Act, show an unusual or unexpected use of powers,  have been badly drafted or impose a tax.	Made up of MP’s and peers. Difficult to scrutinise everything as 3000 SI’s each year. Limited power, can’t actually amend SI’s, only report back on them – reports often ignored.
Ministers can questioned in the House of Commons by any MP at any time about their work and proposed statutory instruments.	At question time or in debate, gives publicity, to DL due to presence of media in Parliament. Minister has to justify legal provision Only works if politician answers the question and doesn’t avoid it

Types of Delegated Legislation

Statutory Instruments

Statutory instruments are laws created by individual government ministers. They will usually be amendments to current laws that need updating or changing. One example of this type of Statutory Instrument is Section 17 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which made motorbike helmets compulsory by law for motorbike riders. However, Statutory Instruments can be used to create new laws altogether. The minister of the topic involved will draw up the legislation. For example the Secretary of State for Education created the Educational Reform Act 1988. Because he was minister for education it was up to him to use his department to research and draft this law.

Bylaws

When parliament lacks local or technical knowledge they give the power to make laws to public bodies and local authorities like local councils or universities. For example the London Underground used parliamentary powers to ban smoking on its property.

Orders in Council

Following the 1920 Emergency powers act the monarch and the Privy Council powers to make laws in emergencies. The privy council is made up of the queen, 300 past and present ministers, the speaker of the House of Commons, the leaders of all the major political parties and the PM or representative for him. An example of an Order in Council was when on September 11 2001 they grounded all UK flights in case of a terrorist attack.