§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what legislative powers she has to issue guidance which is required to be taken into account by courts and tribunals for the purpose of determining legal liability where approval by Parliament is now required; and what such guidance has been issued. [30496]
§ Mr. SackvilleNumerous enactments—for instance, section 7A of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 and section 17 of the National Health Service Act 1977—confer on my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State the power to give to certain public bodies, including local authorities, health authorities and NHS trusts, directions with which those bodies are obliged to comply. Unless contained in a statutory instrument, such directions are not laid before Parliament, but nevertheless have legal consequences.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State also gives guidance, falling short of directions, to certain public bodies with respect to their exercise of functions. In some cases, the power to give guidance is expressly recognised in statute—for instance, section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 requires local authorities, when exercising their social services functions, to act under the general guidance of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. In certain other cases, guidance is given as part of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's general statutory responsibilities; for instance, guidance is issued to health authorities under my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's general powers in section 2(b) of the National Health Service Act 1970 to do anything which is conducive or incidental to the discharge of a duty imposed by that Act.
Even guidance which is given under express statutory powers does not necessarily require the approval of Parliament. Whether the courts would take account of guidance when determining the legal liability would depend on the matters at issue and the circumstances in which the guidance was given. They would, in appropriate 486W cases, be likely to have regard to guidance given in pursuance of express statutory powers to a body which is required to act under it.
The statutory powers to give directions and guidance have been exercised on a large number of occasions over the years by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and her predecessors. If the hon. Member has a particular problem in mind and would care to write to me about it, I will identify such relevant directions or guidance as there may be in existence.