- Pressure groups (PG) are groups of people who campaign to further the interest of their members. They bring matters of concern to the public and the government (govt). Pressure groups try to influence the government into legislating laws in their interest by recruiting as many members as possible (members are voters). They also have other methods such as:
- Internet/letters/email and such forms of advertising
- Mass media campaigns
- Demonstrations and marches
- Lobbying Ministers to persuade them to ask questions in parliament or introduce Private Member’s Bill
Some pressure groups may be more successful than others because their interest fits the government agenda.
Sectional Pressure groups campaign for the common interest of their members, who are usually of one profession and benefit professionally and economically in the success of the group. Most SPGs are powerful with lots of member and wealth (to use on mass media campaigns ect). Governments don’t often fail to consult SPGs on matters concerning them so they don’t lose votes. SPGs can have access to backbenchers or govt MPs (insider groups) and can comment on the Green Paper. Examples of SPGs: National Farmer’s Union, Law Society.
Cause PGs promote an ideal or belief (e.g. Greenpeace, RSPCA). Membership of these PGs is unrestricted as anyone can support their cause. However, they have less influence on parliament as they are less wealthy and do not enjoy access to MPs or backbenchers (outsider PGs). This is illustrated by the failed Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 1981 which had 250,000 members. Nevertheless, some successful pressure g
roups only need one person to be effective (e.g. Mary Whitehouse and the Protection of Children Act 1978).
PGs help raise awareness of the public and the govt of unnoticed but important matters (Jamie Oliver and the Education (Nutritional Standards for school Food) Regulations 2006), and as there are many PGs, lots of matters are raised. PGs have also found flaws in govt legislations, especially one that went against human rights (restriction to the right of trial by jury was opposed by Justice and Liberty PG)
However, PGs are inevitably biased. They may also resort to undesirable tactics such as damage to property and criminal activity (animal activists destroy labs). Views of pressure groups may conflict, which makes decision making very hard for the govt. Lastly, even though PGs may have few people, if it is successful and well organised it can be a big influence to parliamentary law-making.
- Before the government draws up a bill, it may issue a Green Paper outlining the key points of the Bill and its alternative to the general public to comment on. After necessary changes have been made the final proposal is published as a White Paper. This process is necessary since the government have been criticised for responding in a ‘knee-jerk’ fashion by not consulting adequately (Dangerous dogs Act 1991). Such consultations mean that many problems are covered before the Bill is put forward.
The bill is then drawn up by the parliamentary counsel, specialist lawyers who try the word the bill so that it gives exactly the intended result. However, they are not always successful and any disambiguation would lead to future problems and judges will have to rule on how to interpret them.
The Bill cannot become an Act of Parliament until it has been passed by both the House of Commons(HOC) and the House of Lords (HOL). Bills may start the legislative process in any House, apart from finance Bills that has to start in the HOC.
The bill goes through the First Reading, where its title is read out the House and a verbal vote is taken to see whether it passes or not. The Second reading involves full debate on the main principles of the Bill and a formal vote is taken. The Committee stage involves detailed examination of each clause of the Bill by a standing committee of 16-50 MPs. For the HOL, the whole House sits in the Committee. For money Bills, the whole House for the HOL and the HOC sits to debate it. If any amendments have been made the Bill goes through the Report Stage where a report of changes is debated and voted upon.
The third reading is the final presentation of the Bill to the House and a final vote is taken. This is almost a formality since the Bill has passes through so many stages but it is still necessary to prevent errors from being missed out.
If the Bill started in the House of Commons, it is now sent to the House of Lords where it follows the same legislative process again. If the House of Lords does not agree on it, then it is sent back to the House of Commons for reconsideration until the House of Lords is happy or the period of one year is over (or one month for a money Bill). This is called the ping-pong procedure and it is the cause of the Parliament Acts (1911 & 1949). The only Bills that have passes via this procedure include the War Crimes Act 1991 and the European Elections Act 1999.
Lastly, for the Bill to become effective as an Act, Royal Assent must be given by the Crown. This is also a formality since the Crown is directed to give Royal Assent by the Prime Minister. The Last time a queen has refused Royal Assent was Queen Anne against the Scotch Militia Bill 1970.
- There is limited time in parliament, so many reform bills (e.g. criminal or contract law) are often neglected. For instance: the Law Commission recommended reform to the law on non fatal offences 1993. In 1997 the government accepted there was need for reform and drafted a Bill in 1998. However, this was not put before Parliament and the law has not been reformed.
Because the government holds the majority in the Parliament, it is difficult for the Parliament to influence the government agenda. It also dominates the Standing Committee. E.g. the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 was widely criticised but it still went through with no amendments made.
The Government controls Parliament time and allows little time for Private Members Bills. It can also restrict discussion time of a Bill and thus reduce effective scrutiny. As H.W.R Wade quoted: “The most shocking feature of our legislative process is the way in which parliamentary scrutiny is eliminated on the pretext of shortage of time.”
Some bills are passed too quickly usually in response to a real or imagined emergency (overreaction by the general public and the media). The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is an example of the Parliament’s knee-jerk reaction which created many problems in the future.
The House of Lords is the only unelected body that has the power to frustrate the House of Commons by being able to delay its decisions. Important decisions may be delayed for too long and prove ineffective in the future.
Acts of Parliament contain ambiguous wording and can be long and complex which leads to dispute over how to interpret the law. Acts are used to amend others, so one must consult many sources of law to find out exactly what it is.
- Ministers of the 15 departments in the government are delegated the power to create statutory instruments relevant to their area of responsibility. Statutory instruments (SI) are the most common form of delegated legislation (over 3000 Sis are made each year 2007). Statutory instruments can be very short, covering one point such as the annual minimum wage, or very long with detailed legislation which is too complex to put into an Act. Examples include:
- The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2009 was legislated under the ECA 1972 and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
- Police codes of practice (i.e. to stop, search and arrest) under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
SIs are a good way of updating the current law to adapt to changing circumstances (e.g. management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992). Statutory instruments are also used to implement EU law into UK law (e.g. Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1994). Lastly, they are used to bring Acts of Parliament or parts of it into effect via the Commencement Order.
Orders in Council (OIC) are made by the Queen or the Privy Council (the Prime Minister and leading members of the govt). Under this type of delegated legislation the government can make laws without going through the Parliament. OIC can be made on a wide range of matters, especially where statutory instruments would be inappropriate. E.g.:
- Giving legal effect to European Directives
- Transferring responsibility between govt departments (SIs are inappropriate).
- Bringing Acts of Parliament into force.
OIC enable the Queen or the Privy council to create emergency laws when the Parliament is not sitting (under the Civil contingency Act 2004). OIC have been used to alter laws regarding the classification of drugs (under the Misuse of drugs Act 1971). OIC have been used to change the number of Judges in the Supreme Court (under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005)
- Delegated legislation is law made by a person or body given authority to create laws (secondary legislation) by the government via an Enabling Act (primary legislation). However, the Parliament still has the power to cancel delegated legislation by amending or repeal the Parent Act (Enabling Act). The government needs delegated legislation because it simply cannot keep all aspects of the law under control by itself.
Delegated legislation is necessary because there is not enough time in Parliament for it to consider detailed legislations. Over 3000 Sis are made each year so that Parliament con concentrate on broader policies rather than details.
Parliament does not have the necessary technical expertise in certain areas, such as safety regulations of different industries or local matters that need the expertise of the local authority. It is impossible for the parliament to know enough to make laws about everything. Therefore, it is better to leave the details to experts in that area.
Ministers of relevant areas are consulted before regulations are drawn up. Consultation is important on technical matters.
Delegated legislation allows quicker law making (made by the Privy Council in an emergency). They can also be amended quickly if circumstances change. Delegated Legislation is easily revoked if it causes problems because it does not need another statute to overwrite it (unlike an Act). This is good when dealing with money matters (such as the minimum wage).
It is impossible for Parliament to foresee all problems that an Act might create. When problems arise, delegated legislation can be put into effect quickly to fix the problem.
6. The main disadvantage of delegated legislation is that it is undemocratic as it can be made by unelected parties (e.g. the Privy Council, civil servants by sub-delegation). This is a problem as control by the Parliament (i.e. the Enabling Act, Delegated Powers Scrutiny Committee) is fairly limited. Control is not effective because few statutory instruments have affirmative resolutions and recommendations from the Scrutiny Committee are often ignored. This is not true for bylaws as they are made by elected local authorities.
Much of delegated legislation is sub-delegated to civil servants in a ministry rather than the ministers who were given the delegated powers. Civil servants are unaccountable to the electorate and therefore not responsible for the problems that they cause by legislating the wrong thing.
The vast amount of delegated legislation makes it hard to keep track of the current law, as over 3000 of them are made every year. This problem is exacerbated as delegated legislation has little publicity, unlike Acts.
There can be lack of scrutiny. The government has been accused of using delegated legislation to pass significant changes to the law without having the go through the thorough legislative process. This is shown in the Henry VIII clauses which allow delegated legislation to be used to amend or repeal Acts. The Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 allowed Ministers to change certain Acts of Parliament using SIs, without having to pass through the scrutiny of the parliamentary legislative process. This power was later extended by the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 and the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, although Parliament Control has been rigourously increased.
Lastly, like all Acts, delegated legislation also has the problem of obscure wording leading to difficulties in interpreting the law.
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