Amazing to think that, after MPs rightly raised concerns about scrutiny of powers in the Coronavirus Act, the 'lockdown' regulations passed last Thursday without being brought before parliament at all. Here are 3 dates for your diary on these regs: 16 April, 18 May, 25 September.
16 April* is when the government must undertake its first review of whether it is necessary to keep these regulations in force. As soon as the Secretary of State considers they are not necessary, he *must* revoke them (in whole or in part).
*15 April for Wales, 18 April for NI.
*15 April for Wales, 18 April for NI.
18 May is, I think, when the English regs lapse unless approved by parliament. The regs were made under s45R Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 which says they lapse 28 days after made, not counting periods of adjournment. So 28d from when parliament returns on 21 April.
(Side-note: if the regs had been made under the Civil Contingencies Act, rather than the Public Health Act, then I believe parliament would have had to return from recess by Monday just gone, and the regs would have lapsed yesterday unless parliament had approved them.)
25 September is the date when the regs expire altogether if they are in force by then, ie if (a) they were approved by parliament in the necessary timeframe and (b) any part of them has not been revoked by the Secretary of State, in one of his 3-weekly reviews.
/ends
/ends
