The critieria for draft legislative reform orders
The Regulatory Reform Committee is appointed to consider and report to the House on draft legislative reform orders under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. Its full remit is set out in Standing Order No. 141, which was approved on 4 July 2007.
Criteria against which the Committee considers each draft legislative reform order
Paragraph (3) of Standing Order No.141 requires us to consider any draft legislative reform order against the following criteria:
... whether the draft legislative reform order -
(a) appears to make an inappropriate use of delegated legislation;
(b) serves the purpose of removing or reducing a burden, or the overall burdens, resulting directly or indirectly for any person from any legislation (in respect of a draft Order under section 1 of the Act);
(c) serves the purpose of securing that regulatory functions are exercised so as to comply with the regulatory principles, as set out in section 2(3) of the Act (in respect of a draft Order under section 2 of the Act);
(d) secures a policy objective which could not be satisfactorily secured by non-legislative means;
(e) has an effect which is proportionate to the policy objective;
(f) strikes a fair balance between the public interest and the interests of any person adversely affected by it;
(g) does not remove any necessary protection;
(h) does not prevent any person from continuing to exercise any right or freedom which that person might reasonably expect to continue to exercise;
(i) is not of constitutional significance;
(j) makes the law more accessible or more easily understood (in the case of provisions restating enactments);
(k) has been the subject of, and takes appropriate account of, adequate consultation;
(l) gives rise to an issue under such criteria for consideration of statutory instruments laid down in paragraph (1) of Standing Order No 151 (Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)) as are relevant;
(m) appears to be incompatible with any obligation resulting from membership of the European Union.
In addition, the Committee has power under S.O. No. 141 paragraph 1(iii) to examine "any matters arising from its consideration of such orders or draft orders."