Lords debates secondary legislation
27 July 2020
The House of Lords examined four statutory instruments (SIs), the regulations, orders or rules, used to fill in the details of Acts of Parliament, on Friday 24 July.
Secondary legislation is the regulations, orders or rules, generally known as statutory instruments (SIs), used to fill in the details of Acts of Parliament (primary legislation). SIs provide many of the practical measures that enable the law to operate in daily life and to be enforced.
The proposed SIs make changes to laws on:
- public health measures to reduce the health risks posed by COVID-19
- certain functions of local and public authorities to be carried out by the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority (SCRCA) and those only to be carried out by the Mayor of the SCRCA
- insolvency moratorium for private registered providers of social housing.
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All these SIs are made under the draft affirmative procedure, meaning they need to be approved by Parliament before they can be made (signed into law) and brought into effect as law. Draft affirmative SIs can be stopped if either House votes against the government's motion calling for the SI to be approved.
Following debates by members all the SIs under consideration were agreed to.
Lords scrutiny
The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) examines every SI. It publishes reports drawing members' attention to SIs.
The committee reported on two of the SIs which make changes to public health measures and SCRCA functions:
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Image: CCO