Westminster Lens: Parliament and Delegated Legislation in the 2015-16 Session

Publications / Reports

Westminster Lens: Parliament and Delegated Legislation in the 2015-16 Session

14 Mar 2017

This report presents original research data on delegated legislation in the 2015-16 parliamentary session. In doing so, it seeks to plug the statistical hole that exists in the understanding of the delegated legislation process, for parliamentarians, officials and observers alike.

This 2017 research report in our Westminster Lens data series builds on our 2014 study The Devil is in the Detail: Parliament and Delegated Legislation. That study laid bare the complexities, weaknesses and contradictions in the delegated legislation scrutiny process, in the first comprehensive study of this process in decades.

This report on delegated legislation in the 2015-16 parliamentary session shines further light on the process by providing detailed original data on the types of delegated powers used, the types, volume and flow of delegated legislation, the amount of parliamentary scrutiny to which Statutory Instruments were subject during the session, and the results of the parliamentary scrutiny process. The report thus furnishes essential data to improve the quality of the political debate around the rights and wrongs of delegated legislation and its scrutiny.

Introduction
Henry VIII powers
Volume
- Number of pages
- By department
- EU-related instruments
Type of instrument
- House of Commons-only instruments
- English votes for English laws (EVEL)
The scrutiny process
- Scrutiny time
- Scrutiny of negative instruments
- The 21-day rule
- Scrutiny of affirmative instruments 19
Rejecting instruments
Withdrawn and correcting instruments

Latest / Highlights

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 19-23 January 2026

Labour MPs may stage a backbench rebellion in the Commons over amendments to the Hillsborough Law (the Public Office (Accountability) Bill). MPs will also debate changes to four other bills. The Foreign Secretary faces departmental questions, including on Iran and Greenland, while Cabinet Office Ministers will be quizzed on digital ID and relations with the EU. In the Lords, six new Peers will be introduced, including former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and Iceland boss Richard Walker. Peers will examine seven bills and spend a seventh Friday in Committee on the assisted dying bill. Select Committees will hear from former Defence Secretaries Sir Ben Wallace and Sir Grant Shapps, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, the German Ambassador, Attorney General Lord Hermer KC, and former head of the National Farmers’ Union Baroness (Minette) Batters.

News / Kemi’s pre-emptive strike on Robert Jenrick - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 125

In a dramatic day at Westminster Kemi Badenoch sacked Robert Jenrick and suspended him from the Conservative Whip before his defection to Reform UK. We explore what it says about Conservative discipline, Reform’s recruitment drive, and whether others may follow. We then examine rows over the Hillsborough Law and proposed national security exemptions, plus procedural drama in the House of Lords over the Chagos deal. Bob Blackman MP also joins us to discuss Backbench Business Committee reforms, before we assess whether the assisted dying bill is being talked out.

News / Growing the Greens: Ellie Chowns MP on Parliament, polling and Zack Polanski - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 124

What is it like to be part of a small but growing parliamentary party? We talk with the leader of the Green Party group at Westminster, Ellie Chowns, about the challenges of operating with limited numbers, the practical realities of parliamentary life, and how institutional structures shape the influence of smaller parties. We discuss our political culture, the Greens’ approach to leadership, internal decision-making, and the party’s longer-term ambitions for electoral and parliamentary reform and a more representative system.

News / Are UK elections under threat? A conversation with the chair of the Electoral Commission, John Pullinger - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 123

With the Government investigating allegations of foreign influence in British politics, we are joined by John Pullinger, Chair of the Electoral Commission, to take stock of the health and resilience of the UK’s electoral system. Our discussion ranges widely over the pressures facing elections and campaigning today, and what issues Parliament may need to grapple with in a future elections bill.

News / Is being Prime Minister an impossible job? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 121

Why do UK Prime Ministers seem to burn out so quickly? We are joined by historian Robert Saunders to examine why the role has become so punishing in recent years. From Brexit and COVID to fractured parties, rigid governing conventions and relentless media scrutiny, the discussion explores what has gone wrong – and what kind of leadership and political culture might be needed to make the job survivable again.