The Regulatory Reform Act 2001 (c.6) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It replaced the

Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 The Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (c. 40) is an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament. It introduced wide-ranging measures with aims including reducing burdens on people in trade created by previous acts such as the Shops Act 1950, ...

. It removed some of the constraints on Deregulation Orders under the 1994 Act, by providing wider powers for government ministers to make a Regulatory Reform Order by statutory instrument. The Act was introduced to the

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on 7 December 2000, and passed to the

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on 19 March 2001. It passed its Report Stage and

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on 4 April 2001 and was given

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on 10 April 2001.

Under the 2001 Act, a government minister can make a Regulatory Reform Order to " eformlegislation which has the effect of imposing burdens", with a view to removing or reducing the regulatory burdens. The Act can only be used to reform existing legislation, so it cannot be used to codify the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

, and can only be used where burdens are removed (although, unlike the 1994 Act, new burdens can also be imposed where proportional). An Order cannot be used to remove "necessary protections".UK Legislation
Regulatory Reform Act 2001: Explanatory Note 72
accessed 20 May 2024 The draft Order must be opened to

public consultation Public consultation, public comment, or simply consultation, is a process by which members of the public are asked for input on public issues. This can occur in public meetings open to all (such as town hall meetings) in written form (such as in ...

, reviewed by Committees from both Houses of Parliament, and then approved by both Houses. However, unlike a Bill, an order is not debated on the floor of either chamber. The Act provided for four Deregulation Orders that were moving through the approval process to be completed. Between enactment in April 2001 and July 2005, the Act was used to pass 27 Regulatory Reform Orders. These included orders to remove restrictions on business tenancies; to liberalise rules on gaming machines; to extend licensing hours for

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2001; rationalise legislation on

fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent wikt:ignition, the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread a ...

; and, for the Queen's

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, to remove the 20-partner limit on partnerships. The Act has been largely replaced by the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. The Act expands the range of ministerial order-making powers, allowing orders to be made in a wider range of circumstances, more quickly and efficiently, with less consultation and scrutiny.

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External links

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. Fourth Edition. 2008 Reissue. Volume 41. Page 1088.
Text of the Act
from the

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.
Explanatory notes
to the Act, from

.
Developments since enactment
from the

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. {{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2001 Economics of regulation Law reform in the United Kingdom

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See also

Notes

References

External links