§ 88. Sir J. Mellorasked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the observations of the Court of Appeal in the case of Blackpool Corporation versus Locker on 18th December; what steps he is taking to ensure that persons may he aware of the precise nature of any delegated Statutory powers affecting their 17W rights and of the authority relied upon; and whether he proposes that the Statutory Instruments Act, 1946, shall be amended for this purpose.
§ Mr. J. EdwardsMy right hon. Friend has never taken the view that the circulars delegating requisitioning powers are confidential or privileged documents and copies of them were in fact made available to the Press upon issue. He is drawing the attention of those concerned to the importance of supplying full information to persons interested in particular requisitions or threatened requisitions. He does not consider that any amendment of the Statutory Instruments Act, 1946, is called for. The Court could not have been aware that Regulations [S.I. 1948 No. r] under Section 8 of the Act had been made on 15th December, 1947, to come into force on 1st January, 1948, for, at the time the Court was considering the case, those Regulations had not been printed and made available. Regulation 2 (I)(a) makes it clear that the Act applies to the exercise of a statutory power conferred by an Order under any Act of Parliament passed before 1st January, 1948, exactly as it does to a power conferred directly by the Act of Parliament itself. Any question as to whether any particular instrument is required under the Act to be printed and placed on sale will be determined by the Reference Committee constituted by Regulation 11.