Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Viscount Bledisloe (Crossbench). It was answered on Wednesday, 13 June 2007.

Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee

Question: My Lords, does the Minister recognise that if her praise for the value of the Merits Committee’s reports is anything other than lip service, the following must happen? If the committee produces a critical report, either the instrument has to be withdrawn and relaid, or the Government must publish publicly their reasons for going ahead notwithstanding the Merits Committee’s report, and that has to be debated so that the House can decide whether it believes the Government or the Merits Committee.

Answer: My Lords, there are many ways in which government departments can respond. The Merits Committee has just published correspondence and will be formally responding to me on it by the autumn, I gather. I have asked departments to consider three things in particular: making a member of top management responsible for the effectiveness and efficiency of preparing statutory instruments; their scope for producing detailed management plans for secondary legislation; and their scope for more informal consolidations or better guidance to help those affected by it. Those practical suggestions that I have made to government departments will enhance the opportunities for statutory instruments.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 692 c1701-2
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Government departments Parliamentary scrutiny Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee Statutory instruments
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk