§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause. [120840]
§ Fiona MactaggartThe subject matter of much Home Office legislation is such that a sunset clause would be inappropriate. For example, the criminal law, rules on citizenship and immigration, the regulation of the police and the prisons are all topics on which it is unrealistic to believe that the controls can simply be abandoned. A sunset clause would just necessitate further legislation. Such a clause is included, however, in exceptional cases (such as in respect of some of the powers in the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001).