A statutory instrument (SI) is the principal form in which delegated legislation is made in Great Britain.
A statutory instrument is used when an Act of Parliament passed after 1947 confers a power to make, confirm or approve delegated legislation on: Minister of the Crown includes the Welsh Ministers[2] and various Acts provide that delegated legislation, although made by another person (for example, the General Dental Council[3]), is also to be made by statutory instrument.
Often the Minister authorised to issue a statutory instrument is "the Secretary of State", which the Interpretation Act 1978 defines as "one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State"; this form effectively allows the Prime Minister to create new departments and define or redefine their responsibilities at will.
A statutory instrument is also used when the King in Council or a Minister exercises a power under an Act passed before 1947 which is legislative, rather than executive, in character.
So, for example, The Income Tax (Exemption of Minor Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 are numbered and may be cited as SI 2003 No.
Parliament's control is limited to approving, or rejecting, the instrument as laid before it: it cannot (except in very rare cases) amend or change it.
Whether or not a statutory instrument is subject to affirmative or negative resolution procedure is dictated by the parent act.
[12] The last time the House of Commons annulled a statutory instrument was in 1979 when it rejected the Paraffin (Maximum Retail Prices) (Revocation) Order 1979 (SI 1979/797).
Because of the extensive powers given to the Government to amend primary legislation as part of the Act, a special form of affirmative procedure has been introduced.
Select committees of both Houses then debate the proposal and examine it against criteria including maintenance of "necessary protection" for those who may be affected, the adequacy of public consultation, the extent of the burden to be lifted, financial implications and compliance with European law.
If it does, it then lays a draft Order before Parliament along with an explanation of any changes made, which is again considered by the Committees before finally being put to a vote of each House for approval.
Before making a remedial order, the Government must lay a proposal before Parliament for 60 days, during which time it will be considered and reported upon by the Joint Committee of both Houses on Human Rights.
An emergency procedure allows for remedial orders to be made immediately and debated afterwards; they must be approved within 120 days or will cease to have effect.
'"[25] The government (specifically the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) controversially used Henry VIII powers to abolish EU rules on state aid (which had been incorporated into UK domestic law after Brexit).
In 2021, the Good Law Project has challenged this move, arguing that the use of Henry VIII powers for such a purpose is constitutionally questionable.
Most Acts of Parliament stipulate that their provisions shall not come into force until a date to be fixed by one or more Commencement Orders made by the Government,[26] thereby giving the authorities time to make necessary preparations.