30th report of session 2008-09: what happened next?, a study of post-implementation reviews of secondary legislation, report with evidence

Secondary legislation makes up the majority of the law of this country. When implemented it affects every sphere of activity. This Committee has become increasingly concerned that Government concentrates too much on the creation of new secondary legislation, and does not properly review what is already in place and whether it works or not. The Committee considers that post-implementation review (PIR) of secondary legislation is important: to identify whether the policy change is achieving the desired results; to identify whether costs and benefits are in line with expectations; to inform future policy development; to improve delivery methods; and, to develop the techniques used to assess the impact of policy interventions. There needs to be a stronger Government impetus to help departments establish a methodical PIR system. This would help ensure that departments used the learning gained from PIR reviews to inform both the content and the delivery mechanisms of their secondary legislation. The Committee outline ways in which PIR could be strengthened and improved.