Legislation: Reviews

(asked on 29th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Ministry of Justice has to undertake post-legislative review of (1) the Civil Liability Act 2018, (2) the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018, (3) the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, (4) the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, (5) the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act 2020, (6) the Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020, (7) the Sentencing Act 2020, and (8) the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act 2020, in line with the policy of reviewing Acts three to five years after enactment


Answered by
Lord Bellamy Portrait
Lord Bellamy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 13th December 2023

All bills that have reached Royal Assent are eligible for post-legislative scrutiny three to five years after they are enacted. Post-legislative scrutiny memoranda have been published on GOV.UK where bills have undergone the process. In addition, the Lords Special Inquiry Committee appointed to carry out post-legislative scrutiny on specific Acts publishes information on its inquiries on parliament.uk.

It is also important to note that post-legislative scrutiny is not the only way policy is reviewed. Many Acts have built-in statutory review mechanisms and consultations have also been launched. This has the effect of providing opportunities for the legislation to be reviewed and assessed without requiring post-legislative scrutiny.

There is no planned timetable for post-legislative scrutiny of the Acts mentioned in this question.

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