Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice has been provided this Session for ministers or senior officials in the Department for Work and Pensions on whether to use secondary legislation or primary legislation for significant legislation.

Lord Freud

There has been no change in approach to the use of primary and secondary legislation since the General Election. Each piece of legislation is approached within the context of the policy and the existing legislative framework. There is no evidence of an increase in the number of statutory instruments　laid　since 2010　or since the General Election. Briefing produced by the House of Commons Library (CBP 7438) shows that　the　number of statutory instruments laid before the House of Commons peaked　at 1,885　in the 2005-06 session, compared to 1,378 last session and 540 so far this session.