Advantages to Delegated Legislation

Time Saving

• quicker to pass and amend than an Act of Parliament

  • as has to be debated and passed by both houses

• Parl business controlled by gov so procedure can be complicated and also doesn’t sit all year

• new laws to deal with changing situations like Covid have been introduced to deal with changing situations

Expertise

• better to involve and use technical expertise or local knowledge when making detailed laws for specific industries or local areas

• law making system would lose public support if laws were passed which were unworkable due to lack of knowledge

There are controls

• Judicial control

• parliamentary control

• help to avoid abuse of power by those exercising delegated powers

Flexible

• DL can be amended and revoked without having to go back to parliament

• eg annual updating to minimum wage

Speed

• DL allows for fast response in emergencies as parl might not be sitting at weekends or during parliamentary holidays

  • eg Food Protection Order (1986) issued 2 hours after Chernobyl disaster