Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what the policy of the Government is on the use of secondary legislation to amend primary legislation with retrospective effect; and if she will make a statement.

The Government's policy is to use legislation with retrospective effect only in exceptional circumstances. In relation to secondary legislation, even where an Act includes powers to make retrospective provision, the Government's policy is to avoid doing so as far as possible. Where retrospective provision is made, the practice is that the power under which it is made ought to be cited and the retrospective effect ought to be highlighted in the explanatory material.