The House of Lords is not sitting this week. However, the fact that the House is not sitting does not mean nothing is happening at our end of the Palace. Some committees continue to meet – I have a meeting this afternoon of the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee (we have a large number of Statutory…
Lord Knight mentions that it is a convention that the House of Lords does not reject delegated legislation. As I pointed out in the House recently, when this issue, came up, it has been the usual practice of the House to agree to orders but it has not amounted to a convention. As the Companion…
As a member of this committee I occasionally get asked about its role. It is very difficult to explain it in a short and simple way. So after some thought I am posting the links below for those who wish to know more but the following short extracts might help people understand its importance and its role.…
I got up very early this morning in order to read through another 80 statutory instruments for the Merits Committee. Nothing much that was noteworthy, but it is bad news that this enormous volume of new subsidiary legislation is being pushed through in the dying days of this Parliament. Corners are being cut in terms…
My committee, Merits of Statutory Instruments, is suffering from overload. In January we scrutinised more than 100 new pieces of delegated legislation and in February/March we have had another 200 to look at. The reason for the increase may be a last-minute attempt to get them through before the announcement of the general election, or…
