§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his policy on the use of sunset clauses in legislation; and which Acts containing such clauses relevant to his Department were passed in each year since 1997. [149328]
§ Mr. IngramThe Ministry of Defence is guided by the revised Regulatory Impact Assessment guidance, "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact752W Assessment", published on 28 January 2003. The guidance advises policy officials to consider time limiting or sunsetting at an early stage of policy development and gives specific examples of where sunsetting may be appropriate.
The Ministry of Defence has one Act that has been passed since 1997 which contains such a clause, the Armed Forces Act 2001.