Editorial Principles
Introduction to Editorial Principles
The Editorial Principles section provides an overview of the general principles relevant to all editorial tasks, such as what types of legislative effects there are, what jurisdictions they extend to, and when and how they come into force. Editors need to have a good understanding of the general principles before starting to make editorial changes to the legislation on legislation.gov.uk.
The term 'effect' means any impact that a new legislative provision has on the text, meaning, operation, scope, or application of existing legislation (including itself). There are two main categories of types of effect: textual amendments and non-textual effects.
Types of Effect
| See also: Marking up Types of Effect, Recording Types of Effect | Back to Top |
Textual Amendments
Textual amendments are the most common and straightforward type of effect. They give authority to change the text of the affected legislation.
Textual amendments may affect legislation at any level:
- the whole item of legislation;
- a whole provision;
- a sub-provision;
- or just some text within a provision or sub-provision (e.g. individual words or definitions).
On legislation.gov.uk, textual amendments in the text of affected legislation usually appear enclosed within square brackets, and the associated annotations are listed under the heading 'Amendments (Textual)'. They appear as ‘F-notes’, which link to markers located at the relevant place in the text.
Types of textual amendment
Textual amendments fall into three main types:
- insertions (where new text is put in)
- substitutions (where old text is replaced by new text)
- repeals (where text is taken out).
The precise terms used by drafters may vary. For example, new text put in at the end of a provision may be 'added', and text to be taken out may be 'omitted', 'revoked', or it may 'cease to have effect'. Provisions or sub-provisions may also be renumbered, which again may be expressed in different ways, and this can even require the affected legislation to be re-structured. Occasionally, an unusual form of words may be used to describe a straightforward type of effect. Sometimes an unusual type of effect is indicated, which needs an approach that is tailor-made for the situation. The main terms used by drafters to indicate textual amendments are as follows (the abbreviations we use in the Identify Effects ('marking up') process are in brackets, if they are different):
- add
- insert (ins.)
- substitute (subst.)
- repeal (rep.)
- omit
- revoke (rev.)
- ceases to have effect
- renumber
See the table of textual effects on the Preparation Tasks - Record Effects page for more detail used when recording textual effects.
Non-textual Effects
Non-textual effects alter the meaning, scope or application of an affected provision without altering the text. Internally we sometimes refer to these as 'non-textual amendments', but this term is misleading as most of these effects are not really ‘amendments’ at all (e.g. ‘applied’).
Non-textual effects may affect legislation at any level. For editorial purposes we always treat them as only relating to the relevant numbered whole provision or sub-provision (or higher level) and not just to words or definitions within those (sub-) provisions.
On legislation.gov.uk, the annotations for these effects appear as 'C-notes' and are listed under the heading 'Modifications etc. (not altering text)'. Because the effects are always treated as affecting identified whole provisions or sub-provisions, there are no corresponding markers located within the text.
There are some other types of legislative provision or action which, strictly speaking, give rise to ‘non-textual effects’. These are dealt with elsewhere in this guide, but the main examples are:
- commencing provisions and commencement orders (the effects of which on the provisions commenced may be reflected in ‘I-note’ annotations)
- provisions determining the extent of legislation (which may give rise to ‘E-note’ annotations)
- the making of any item of secondary legislation (which may be recorded in a ‘P-note’ annotation against the power-conferring provision as a 'power exercised' effect).
Types of non-textual effect
The main types of non-textual effect are set out below, though variations will be needed in unusual circumstances or to reflect the wording used by the drafter. If this is the case, clear guidance should be given in the mark-up on the affecting legislation.
The conventions below were revised and updated in order to apply the effects of 2005 legislation onwards and are common to both UK and Northern Ireland revised legislation. Types of non-textual amendment that are no longer or very rarely used are included at the end for historical information.
The abbreviations used in the Identify Effects ('marking up') process are shown in brackets under each type of effect, where applicable.
| Type of effect | Description |
|---|---|
| Applied
(‘appl.’) |
This is used where provisions of existing legislation are ‘adopted’, either for the purposes of the new legislation itself or for a set of circumstances specified in that new legislation. That existing provision is then said to be ‘applied’.
The clearest type of example would be where the term itself is used by the draftsman, e.g.:or
But beware: the mere presence of words such as “shall apply” does not necessarily indicate an ‘applied’ effect. In context, the affecting provision may in fact be modifying a provision that already applies. (See ‘modified’ below). In other cases, the application of the earlier provision is implicit in the wording of the affecting provision, e.g.
|
| Applied
(with modifications) (‘appl. (mods)’) |
This is used where provisions are applied as above, but the applied provisions are also modified to suit the new circumstances. The required modifications may or may not be spelled out, e.g.
|
| Disapplied (‘disapplied’) | This is used where provisions of existing legislation which previously applied are now no longer to apply. It is almost exclusively used where the term ‘disapplied’ is used by the draftsman. |
| Construed as one with
('constr.') |
This is used where the new legislation is to be interpreted (‘construed’) as if it, and the existing legislation, were in effect, a single item of legislation. It should only be employed where clear words are used by the draftsman, e.g.[The resulting annotation in the 1891 Act will read: “Act: 1999 c. 16 Pt VI to be construed as one with this Act by virtue of ...”] We treat this as an effect because it impacts on the interpretation of both items of legislation, and contrasts with the situation where it is provided that the new legislation “shall be read with” or “shall be construed in accordance with” the existing legislation. We do not treat these as effects. On the other hand, an expression such as “shall be construed as including a reference to” would probably indicate a modification. |
| Continued
(‘cont.’) |
This is used where a provision is stated to be continued (generally, where it would otherwise cease to have effect), e.g.
|
| Excluded
(‘excl.’) |
This is used where it is provided that the affected provisions are not to apply to the affecting legislation, or to some specified set of circumstances (in contrast to ‘restricted’ below), e.g.
|
| Explained
(‘expl.’) |
This is used occasionally where the new provision clarifies earlier provisions without intending to change them, e.g.
|
| Extended
(‘ext.’) [occasionally: extended with modifications (‘ext. (mods))] |
This may be used to extend existing provisions to persons, things or circumstances not previously included, e.g.
This effect is now used sparingly. It was previously used quite widely for effects that would now be treated as ‘applied’ or ‘modified’. It is now generally confined to situations where an existing category of things or circumstances is being extended to bring new ones within the same category (often using words such as “shall include”, as in the first example above) or where clear words such as “shall be extended” or “shall be construed as extending” are used (as in the second example). As with ‘applied’, it is possible for a provision to be extended with modifications. |
| Extended (to another jurisdiction)
e.g. (‘ext. (Jersey)’) |
This is used where the operation of a provision is extended to a specified new jurisdiction, e.g.
|
| Incorporated
(‘incorp.’) |
This is only used where clear words indicate that the earlier provisions are to be incorporated in the specified legislation, e.g.
|
| Modified
(‘mod.’) |
This is the ‘workhorse’ of non-textual effects and can be used for any situation where the meaning or operation of a provision is altered without changing the text and which doesn’t fall into any of the other categories. (It was previously used only for the modification of provisions in respect of particular cases - the term ‘amended’ was used if the alteration was of general application).
Other non-textuals can sometimes be regarded as special examples of ‘mods’ (e.g. ‘restricted’, ‘extended’, etc.). It may be possible to use ‘mod.’ where it is clear that there is some change to the meaning or operation of a provision but it is difficult to categorise. Note: when drafters use the terms 'modified', 'modification', etc., this does not necessarily indicate a non-textual effect. Drafters may use the terms to mean any kind of change, including amendments to text. It should be apparent from the context whether a textual or non-textual effect is intended.
|
| Power to amend,
Apply etc. Conferred (no abbrev.) |
This is used where a power to amend or apply an existing provision (or to modify, restrict, etc.) is conferred, e.g.
|
| Referred to
(‘ref.’) |
This category has been traditionally used in Northern Ireland and may now also be used for UK legislation, though it rarely is. It is used where there is a reference to existing legislation which is likely to be of significance to a user but which does not amount to an amendment or other recognised effect on that legislation.
Here is an example of how it has been used:This is some sort of exclusion, but it operates on the rules made under s. 340 rather than on the section itself, and would not usually be recognised as an effect for our purposes. Nevertheless, the user of the Act might very well want to know about it. Although it can be used as a fallback where there is some doubt about whether the reference amounts to an effect or not, it should not be used simply to avoid working out what the effect is. Note: it should not be used for references which are merely identifying references. These occur very frequently and noting them all would overload the revised legislation with information of little use to the user. |
| Restored
(‘restored’) |
This is (rarely) used where a provision has previously been amended or repealed and is now reinstated as it stood before the amendment or repeal, e.g.
|
| restricted
(‘restr.’) |
This is used to indicate that the application of the existing provision to the new legislation or circumstances is limited. But note that if the net effect is that the existing provision is not to apply at all in the specified circumstances, “excluded” would be used.)
Examples of ‘restricted’ are:
|
| superseded
(normally ‘rep. and superseded’) |
This is used where new provisions are to have effect in place of former provisions. Usually the former provisions are repealed by the amending Act - see 1976 c. 17, s. 5(2). In the following case, the provisions of the section are superseded for certain purposes only, so the annotation reads “superseded in relation to secured tenancies”:
|
| transfer
of functions (‘funcs. trans.’) |
This is used where functions under a provision formerly vested in one party are transferred to another, e.g.Note: variations on this theme might include “functions made exercisable by” or “functions made exercisable concurrently by” (the latter would occur where power is to be vested in another party as well as the first party). However, we would not record a “delegation of functions”. Where a function is delegated the responsibility for the function remains where it was. We should only be interested if the function is actually transferred or made exercisable jointly etc so that there is joint responsibility, rather than mere delegation. |
Old types of non-textual effect
Although no longer, or very rarely, used, editors need to be aware of these effects as they may still be found in existing annotations, in the printed Tables of Effect appended to the annual bound volumes of legislation, and in the Chronological Table of the Statutes.
| Type of effect | Description |
|---|---|
| amended
(‘am.’) |
This is now very rarely used. It was previously used routinely where the meaning of a provision was changed for all purposes, but without authority to amend the text. We now prefer to use the term ‘modified’ (‘mod.’).
It is still very occasionally used for an amendment which is in the nature of a textual amendment but where it is impractical to alter the text. The most frequent such use is in the complex up-rating of sums, such as in social security legislation. |
| definition applied
(‘def. appl’.) |
This was used for the application of a definition, but was suspended due to the large volume of effects with limited perceived use. |
| saved
(no abbrev.) |
This was used where a provision is preserved (saved) from being affected. (This is different from a saving which is used in conjunction with an amendment or repeal to indicate a qualification to the amendment or repeal). |
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Extent and Territorial Application
The term 'extent' refers to the jurisdiction(s) where the legislation is law. The extent of a piece of legislation can be the whole of the UK, or one or more of the three jurisdictions within the UK:
- England and Wales
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland.
Note: ‘England' and 'Wales' are not separate jurisdictions.
There is a special extent for Church Measures too – the provinces of Canterbury and York.
Be aware: The term 'extent' is currently used more loosely on legislation.gov.uk for search purposes, to help users find legislation that is relevant to each of the four geographical parts of the UK, i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The term “Great Britain” refers only to England, Wales and Scotland with their subsidiary islands (but not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands). The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom either. The Interpretation Act 1978, Sch. 1 gives a definition of the (rarely used) term “British Islands”.
Legislation.gov.uk is a UK database, so it does not contain the legislation of the Isle of Man or Channel Islands, but the effects of legislation which extend provisions beyond the UK are recorded in the usual way to provide information for UK users. For example, an S.I. which extends a UK Act to Jersey gives rise to the annotation: 'Act extended (Jersey) (date) by...'
Distinction between Extent and Territorial Application
The extent of legislation may not be the same as its territorial application, and this needs to be carefully checked before update is carried out. Legislation may be law for the whole of the UK and its extent is therefore the whole of UK. But its 'territorial application' may be different. For example, an S.I. may be law in the whole of the UK but it may only be said to ‘apply’ to Scotland. Sometimes it is clear from the wording or context that the legislation has no application beyond Scotland. In these cases the extent is UK, but the territorial application is Scotland. This is happening more frequently since devolution because the devolved legislatures as a general rule can legislate only for their territory, though they may do so by amendment of a provision that formerly applied in a single way throughout the UK. See for example s.70(2) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003. In another example s.12 of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 extends to Scotland certain amendments to the Police Act 1997 (c.50) that had previously not extended there.
Very frequently, an S.I. will technically extend to England and Wales but apply only to one or the other geographical area. The extent in this case is EW but the territorial application will either be E or W as the case may be. This is because there is no such thing as the law of England and the law of Wales. There is a single jurisdiction governed by the law of England and Wales. So it would be meaningless to say that something only extends to Wales, but it is very common to say that a provision in a law that extends to the whole of the UK but only applies to persons in Wales.In a provision like this, 'England' and 'Wales' are being used as geographical concepts, not as references to legal jurisdictions.
Territorial Application is rarely specified explicitly in primary legislation. For ‘Extended Toes’ purposes (research of effects in preparation for update), there are separate columns for extent and territorial application.
Extent or territorial application has to be determined by an editor at various stages in the editing process and it is essential that extents are researched thoroughly and accurately.
How To Determine Extent: Primary Legislation
If there is an extent section, it is usually found towards the end of the main body of an Act. But extent can be indicated somewhere else too, for example in individual sections, or at the beginning or end of a Part.
In the case of an Act which has been updated, the extent of all, or part, of it may have been changed by subsequent legislation, and this may be indicated in annotations. You may find these annotations at the beginning of the Act (e.g. “Act repealed (S.) by . . .”) or elsewhere (e.g. “S.12 extended (N.I.) by . . .”). So just checking the extent section is not enough. Editors should follow this guidance for setting the extent attributes at both Initial Edit and Edit Update stages, and for populating the Extended TOES chart:
No Extent Specified
- Where there is no indication of extent in a Westminster Act, this means that the extent is unlimited. Therefore the extent is UK.
- Acts of the Scottish Parliament always extend to Scotland only.
- Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly always extend to Northern Ireland only.
- Acts and Measures of the Welsh Assembly always extend to England and Wales only (and, even though in most cases they apply only to Wales, they often have some ‘cross border’ application.)
Extent Specified
- Single Specified Extent
This is the most straightforward type of extent indication, and leaves no doubt as to its meaning.
e.g. “This Act extends to Scotland only.”
- Act Includes a Jurisdiction
You need to take care with these. The legislation may say “This [Act] [section] extends to. . .” (i.e. it doesn't use the word “only” as in the previous example). In this case, you must look at the words in context - since these words can be used to widen the extent, restrict it, or just clarify it. This form of words is most frequently found in relation to Northern Ireland. It was a special drafting convention, now rarely used, to make clear which Acts of the UK parliament extended to Northern Ireland:
You should still check if any other provisions give further detail. If not – and England, Wales and Scotland are not excluded – the presumption is that the Act extends to Northern Ireland as well as England, Wales and Scotland.e.g. “This Act extends to Northern Ireland.”
Conversely, if the Act states
this probably means that the legislation only extends to England and Wales - you might find further clarification elsewhere in the text. If in doubt, talk to your Review Editor.e.g. “This Act extends to England and Wales”
- Act Excludes a Jurisdiction
If you come across this text, you must first check other provisions to see if any further detail is given. If no further clarification is provided, then the Act extends only to England, Wales and Scotland. But, bear in mind that it does not necessarily mean that the whole of the Act extends to England, Wales and Scotland. Relevant individual sections may contain further limitations on extent.e.g. “This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.”
- Mixed Extents
Many Acts are of mixed extent, which means that the extent is not uniform throughout, and different parts or sections have different extents. This can be even more subtle, where sections only extend to a jurisdiction for certain purposes, or where different parts of the same section have different extents.
For example, an extent provision of an Act may state the following:
“(1) Parts 1-4 extend to England and Wales only
(3) Part 5 does not extent to Northern Ireland.
(2) Part 6 extends to Scotland only”
If this Act is made up of 10 Parts, the above example would be interpreted as follows:
Parts 1-4: England and Wales only
Part 5: Great Britain (England and Wales, and Scotland)*
Part 6: Scotland only
Parts 7-10: United Kingdom*
*But note also that individual provisions may give further guidance as explained above.
- The Amending/Repealing Provisions of an Act are ‘Co-Extensive’ With Enactments being Amended/Repealed
e.g. “(1) Subject to the following provision, this Act extends to England and Wales only. (2) The amendments in Schedule 6, and the repeals in Schedule 7, have the same extent as the enactments to which they relate.”
- For Edit Update purposes, this means that any amendments or repeals contained in Schedules 6 and 7 are treated as ‘whole extent’.
- For Initial Edit purposes, the attributes for the whole Act, including Schedules 6 and 7, are set to EW regardless of the extent of the provisions being amended or repealed.
- For Extended TOES purposes, the extent is recorded as “same as affected”
Extent of Church Measures
The extent of Church Measures (also known as General Synod Measures) does not follow other types of primary legislation. Instead the extent is expressed in terms of the “Provinces of Canterbury and York” which, in geographical terms within the UK, effectively means England. But it is worth noting that, for the purposes of church jurisdiction:
- The Province of York includes the Isle of Man;
- The Province of Canterbury includes parts of Wales, the Channel Islands and the diocese of Gibraltar and Europe.
For the purposes of Legislation.gov.uk, the extent of Church Measures is always set to ‘England’ only.
How To Determine Extent And Territorial Application (TA): Secondary Legislation (UK and General)
Extent or Territorial Application Specified
First, check whether the extent or territorial application is specified in the Statutory Instrument, Order etc. If the extent is specified, follow the guidance given above for primary legislation. If words such as “applies to England only” or “has effect in Scotland only” are used, this is territorial application rather than extent (see notes on the distinction above). The appropriate columns will be completed on the Extended TOES chart.
Extent Not Specified
Where the extent of secondary legislation is not specified, the principles are not the same as those set out for primary legislation. In the absence of any contrary indication, and subject to the paragraphs below, the extent of an item of secondary legislation follows the extent of the provision(s) of the primary legislation under which it was made. It can never be wider than the extent of the primary legislation under which is was made.
So in order to discover the extent of an S.I. where the extent is not specified, you should find the enabling Act and provision. You can do this by looking in the recitation of power-conferring provisions at the top of the S.I. Then you should research the extent of that enabling provision in the usual way.
An S.I. may cite more than one provision of the enabling Act as power-conferring. Usually, these provisions will all have the same extent, but if they do not, you need to determine which is the main provision.
For example, in an Act of mixed extents, there may be a provision in a part of the enabling Act that only extends to Scotland and provides that “The Secretary of State may prescribe the amount of a fee . . .”. In the general interpretation provisions at the end of the Act there may be a provision, which extends to the whole of the UK which defines the term “prescribed” wherever it is used in the Act. The S.I. prescribing the fee cites both provisions as power-conferring, but the first is clearly the main operative provision. The extent of the S.I. will, in this case, be Scotland only.
Territorial Application Not Specified
Territorial application is rarely explicitly stated in primary legislation, but you can determine it by looking at the relevant power-conferring provisions in the Act. This particularly relates to the application of S.Is in England or Wales, and much less frequently, to the application of S.I.s in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
For example, the Act may provide that the Welsh Ministers may make regulations that apply only to Wales, or that the Secretary of State may make regulations that apply only to England. (However, don't assume that any power of the Welsh Ministers to make secondary legislation must only relate to Wales. Depending on the wording of the relevant provisions, the Welsh Ministers may have power to make law applying anywhere in England and Wales.)
NOTE regarding Commencement Orders. For guidance on the significance of extent and territorial application relating to the commencement effects of commencement orders, see Commencement. A commencement order may also contain ‘direct effects’, such as consequential amendments. If so, the usual principles relating to extent and territorial application will apply in relation to those effects.
A word of warning: S.I.s may contain reference to a particular jurisdiction in the subject headings at the top of the S.I., e.g. “HOUSING, ENGLAND AND WALES”. This is the legislation.gov.uk subject classification and is only intended to give users an an indication of the main subject matter of the S.I., so you must not take it as a statement of the extent or territorial application of the S.I. It frequently happens that an S.I. with a subject classification referring only, say, to England and Wales contains some provisions that extend or apply more widely, e.g. to Scotland.
Secondary Legislation And The Devolved Administrations
Scotland
Treat all Scottish Statutory Instruments (SSI) as extending only to Scotland. This means there is no issue about territorial application. The Scottish Ministers can only make law for Scotland, and although the Crown may make SSI Orders in Council, this power is also effectively limited to making law for Scotland. If a provision of an SSI appears to extend beyond Scotland, talk to your Review Editor (but see also the guidance concerning Commencement).
Northern Ireland
Treat all Northern Ireland Orders in Council as extending only to NI. The same applies to the Statutory Rules (SR) made under them, and to SRs made under Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly. There is therefore no issue about territorial application in these cases. SRs can also be made under UK acts but, unless there is anything that strongly suggests otherwise, these too should be treated as extending only to NI. If a provision of a Northern Ireland Order in Council or SR appears to extend beyond Northern Ireland, consult your Review Editor (but see also the guidance concerning Commencement).
Wales
The position relating to Wales is more complex. Wales is not a separate legal jurisdiction, but forms part of ‘England and Wales’. Welsh Statutory Instruments (WSI) are merely a special type of UK SI (unlike SSIs and SRs). However, any WSI made by the Welsh Ministers or the Welsh Assembly always extends to England and Wales (only). You should determine any limited territorial application in accordance with the general principles set out above. (WSIs often have application in parts of England as well as Wales). If a provision of a WSI appears to extend beyond England and Wales, consult your Review Editor (but see also the guidance concerning Commencement).
Commencement
This guidance shows how to tell when an item of legislation comes into force by refering to its commencing provision(s) and to Commencement Orders or Appointed Day Orders. Extent and territorial application in relation to Commencement Orders is often complex (see the section on Extent, Territorial Application and Commencement Orders below), and editors should tailor annotations (or Extended Tables of Effects (Toes chart) accordingly.
When does an item of legislation come into force?
Legislation can be brought into force in various ways, as described below.
Legislation is silent as to commencement
If the legislation doesn't indicate when it will commence, the date of commencement will be as follows:
- For all types of primary legislation, except Acts of the Scottish Parliament (asps) enacted since 4.6.2010 it is the date of Royal Assent. This can be found in the introductory text in square brackets below the long title).
- For Acts of the Scottish Parliament enacted after 4.6.2010, it is the day following the date of Royal Assent. This date can be found in the introductory text, in the words above the long title).
- For all types of secondary legislation, it is the 'made' date. This can be found in the introductory text, in the first of the italic headings beneath the title of the instrument).
The authority for when 'silent Acts of the Scottish Parliament' enacted since 4.6.2010 come into force is in the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 10), s. 2:
Commencement of Acts of the Scottish Parliament
(1)Subsection (2) applies where no provision is made for the coming into force of an Act of the Scottish Parliament.
(2)The Act comes into force at the beginning of the day after the day on which the Bill for the Act receives Royal Assent.
2010 asp 10, s. 2
Date Specified/‘Fixed Future Date’/ Retrospective
- The legislation may specify a precise date for commencement. This may be the made or Royal Assent date and is usually in the future (‘fixed future date’). For example: “this Act shall come into force on 9th September 2004”. In secondary legislation, the in-force date may also appear as an italic heading at the top of the instrument.
- Occasionally, legislation may provide that it is deemed to have come into force at a date in the past (i.e. it is ‘retrospective’)
- The legislation may specify that it will come into force at the end of a period of time. The commencement provision will typically specify that the Act, or relevant part of it, will come into force: “at the end of the period of 2 months beginning with the date on which it is passed” (i.e. Royal Assent). So if the Royal Assent date is 1.2.2004, the 2 month period ends at the end of the last day of March 2004. And so commencement starts immediately after (i.e. on 1.4.2004). If, however, the commencement is calculated “from” 1.2.2004 (as is usually the case with Northern Irish Orders in Council and other secondary legislation), the calculation would not include 1.2.2004. The result would be that the commencement would be a day later than in the earlier case (i.e. 2.4.2004).
- In the case of secondary legislation, the resultant commencement date will usually appear in an italic heading at the top of the instrument.
Prospective/ Commencement by ‘Commencement Order’
The legislation may confer a power for an order or orders to be made bringing the legislation into force – i.e. it is still prospective (prosp.) when it is made. For Acts, commencement orders take the form of Statutory Instruments (or, in Northern Ireland, Statutory Rules). In the case of a prospective General Synod Measure, an Instrument made by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York will be used to bring it into force.
It is very common for at least part of an Act to be prospective at the date of Royal Assent. It is less comment, but secondary legislation may sometimes be prospective and brought into force by commencement order in the same way as Acts. Northern Irish Orders in Council, especially, are often prospective and are brought into force by commencement orders in the form of Statutory Rules. (See further the paragraphs below concerning Commencement Orders and Extent.
Event-dependent
The legislation may specify that it will come into force after a specific event has happened. For example: “on the abolition date” - the abolition date wil then be referenced in that legislation itself or by reference to an Appointed Day Order etc.
But coming into force date is less easily ascertained. For example, an S.I. relating to parking provision in London was to come into force on separate dates for each borough, following a resolution of the local council.
It is quite common, especially for local Acts, to stipulate that the date of commencement is to be as notified in the London, Belfast or Edinburgh Gazette.
‘With effect’ and ‘with application’
Sometimes a provision comes into force at Royal Assent (or on a specified date etc) but has effect or applies in relation to some different date or period. This happens most commonly in Finance Acts and tax legislation. For guidance on how to proceed editors should consult document EPN001 Finance Acts Effects.ADD THIS AND A LINK TO THE WIKI. For Extended Toes purposes, see the Help document ADD LINK.
[INSERT EXAMPLES HERE]
Mixed Dates
Legislation or any provision within it may be brought into force on different dates for different jurisdictional extents, for different purposes or for specified provisions only.
[INSERT EXAMPLES HERE]
Different Commencement Dates for Amending Provision and Amendments
It is possible for a provision to be brought into force on one date, but for an amendment made by it to come into force on a different date, or to remain prospective.
[INSERT EXAMPLE HERE - For an example of the latter, see S.I. 2006/1253 (N.I. 6), arts. 1(2)(4), 5(5), Sch. 2.]
A specified date for commencement was given for the order as a whole, including art. 5(5) and Sch. 2, but a repeal made by those provisions was to be brought into force by order. In such a case, both provisions would be treated for Initial Edit purposes as fully in force, without any I-Notes.
Where to find the commencement indication
The term “commencement provision” is used to refer to a provision in an item of legislation that states when or how it is to be brought into force.
The commencement provision of an Act, if there is one, is usually to be found at or near the end of the 'main body' (before any schedules); in secondary legislation (including N.I. Orders in Council, it will usually be one of the first two or three provisions at the front. It should be noted, however, that individual provisions elsewhere in the legislation may separately specify commencement dates or contain powers to bring provisions into force, or to appoint a day for some other purpose, e.g. a dissolution date. This may be so even where there is also a commencement provision that appears, on the face of it, to cover the whole of the legislation. So there is never any substitute for a close reading of the whole text.
[INSERT EXAMPLES HERE]
Commencement Orders (or ‘Appointed Day Orders’)
Provisions are often brought into force by a statutory instrument and this normally takes the form of a Commencement Order, which is distinctively identified by a ‘C’ number after the title. These ‘C’ numbers reflect the sequence of Commencement Orders for the year, regardless of the Acts under which they are made.
If any Order appoints a day for commencement we may refer to it as an “Appointed Day Order”. These can be commencement orders and carry a ‘C’ series number, and/or the words ‘Appointed Day’ may appear in the title.
However, the category of Appointed Day Orders is wider than Commencement Orders and they do not necessarily commence any provisions. For example, an Appointed Day Order may appoint a day for a different type of event - the appointment of a 'dissolution date' for instance. However, the appointed date may have the effect of indirectly commencing other provisions (for example, the repeals may be stated to come into force 'on the dissolution date'). This means that for extended TOES (tables of effects)research, if you are allocated an Appointed Day Order that is not formally a commencement order (and has no subsidiary ‘C’ number) but which appoints a day, you need to check whether it has any commencement effects, directly or indirectly. The title of such an order will not necessarily indicate that it appoints a day. If there are no effects the Order should be treated as 'non-affecting'.
Extent, Territorial Application and Commencement Orders
The extent or territorial application of the commencement order does not always determine the extent or territorial application for the effected provisions that are commenced in the relevant Act.
For the purposes of giving effect to the commencement, we are only interested in the extent or territorial application for the relevant provisions of the Act that are being commenced - not the extent or territorial application of the commencement order itself.
So, for Extended Toes purposes, in entries for the ‘commencement effects’ of an order, leave the columns for extent and territorial application of the affecting legislation blank. The extent or territorial application for the effect that is commenced will, if limited, be entered in the ‘In-force qualification’ column.
With devolution, determining the extent or territorial application for the provisions that are commenced by a commencing S.I. is quite complex, particularly for Wales. The S.I. does not always make the extent or territorial application clear.If this is the case, refer to the relevant provisions of the enabling Act. Apart from any provisions dealing with extent or territorial application, the commencement provision may, for example, specify the powers of the appropriate commencing authorities (and you may need to refer to an interpretation provision for the definition of “the appropriate authorities”).
Sometimes, different authorities (for example the Secretary of State and the Welsh Assembly) have the power to bring into force the same section for different extents or territorial applications.
For example, by s. 67(7)(e) of the Children Act 2004, the Secretary of State has the power to bring s. 56 of that Act into force so far as relating to England, and the Welsh Assembly has the same power so far as relating to Wales. In S.I. 2006/927 the Secretary of State brought s. 56 into force and the order itself did not specify that it related to England only. The only clues to the ‘England’ limitation lay in the reference to ‘ENGLAND’ in the subject heading and references to England in the Explanatory Note. (The section had already been brought into force for Wales by S.I. 2006/885.)
On the other hand, don't assume that a Commencement Order made by the Welsh Assembly (or the Welsh Ministers) is limited to bringing provisions into force for Wales only.
For example, S.I. 2005/558, made by the Welsh Assembly, brings into force a number of sections for the whole of England and Wales in accordance with the power in s. 73 of the enabling Act (the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 (c. 23)). The S.I. itself is silent on the subject (except for a reference in the Explanatory Note).
You cannot even assume that a limit on the extent for which an authority may make law limits the extent for which they may commence legislative provisions. For example, Scottish Statutory Instruments made by the Scottish Ministers can only make law for Scotland. However, S.S.I. 2006/381 commenced a number of provisions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c. 15) specifically for England and Wales. This is becuase Scottish Ministers were not making law for England and Wales, they were simply commencing law already made by the the UK parliament.
Editors need to be on the lookout for such anomalies, particularly if a devolved jurisdiction has any commencing powers in the Act being commenced. Where the extent or territorial application for the provisions that are being commenced is not explicit in the commencement order, check the relevant provisions of the Act, particularly the commencement provision, before starting work. If the position is still unclear, consult your Review Editor. The subject heading of the S.I. or the Explanatory Note, and footnotes, can give useful pointers (though these are not definitive). For example, in S.I. 2004/2528 the footnote alone gives the clue that a few of the commenced sections are commenced for England only.
For guidance on extent and territorial application of legislation generally, see Affecting Extent and Territorial Application.
Savings
When you identify effects in new legislation ('marking up'), be aware of the possible presence of 'savings' in provisions (or sub-provisions) that are secondary to the main affecting provision (or sub-provision) that you may need to cite.
What we mean by 'savings'
The strict definition of a saving is quite limited:
“A saving is a provision the intention of which is to narrow the effect of the enactment to which it refers so as to preserve some existing legal rule or right from its operation” Francis Bennion in ‘Statutory Interpretation’
.In practice, though, we try to be helpful to users by identifying any other provisions that appear to qualify the effect in some way.
This guidance covers savings in this looser sense of the word. It is not concerned with identifying ancillary provisions that form part of the authority for an effect, or relate to the time period to which it relates.
You do not need to go to great lengths to find every single provision that may have some minor bearing on the application of the affecting provision. Bear in mind, however, that an Act etc. always has to be read as a whole. In principle, everything in an Act may impact on everything else and users are still responsible for ensuring that they have understood the precise effect of the amendments.
For legislation.gov purposes, savings are broken down into two types:
- “Common form” savings or other qualifiers relating to the nature or scope of the amendment
- “Substantive savings” that preserve the existing law (i.e. without the amendment) for some substantive purpose, class of persons, etc.
Common Form savings (and other qualifiers)
Very often, legislators make provision to preserve the position in relation to things that may have been done or started (relying on the old law), before an amendment comes into effect. This is called a common form saving. By their nature, these savings are usually transitory or transitional.
This category is also a ragbag for any other qualifications that do not, strictly speaking,appear to amount to a saving. This includes:
- Most provisions that start with words like: “Nothing in this Act shall affect…” which could potentially qualify any amendments made by the Act.
- Any provision that relates to Crown application (for example that the Act does, or does not, bind the Crown).
- Provisions that set out the scope or application of the SI/Act etc. ( Don't confuse ‘application’ here with time-related effects/applications – for which see TOES guidance ADD LINK).
Common form savings are marked against individual sections underneath the effect annotation - see, for example: “(with s. 2(1))”. They may also be marked on the front cover of legislation, if there are a large number of amending provisions that relate to the saving, under the heading “Savs etc.”
Here are some examples:
“The amendments made… by article 16(2)(b) and (3) shall not apply to any registration under the Act which has resulted from an application made before the coming into force of this Order.” (S.I. 2006/1974, art. 19)
This is a common form saving and would be noted underneath the annotation for the effects in article 16(2)(b) and (3) as “(with art. 19)”.
"This Act binds the Crown” (2002 c. 9, s. 129).
All the amendments made by the Act would in principle be marked '(with s. 129)', but in this case, for convenience, the marking would go on the front cover under “Savs etc.” as: “s. 129 for all entries”
“Nothing in the repeals made by this Act affects the validity of any entry in the register” (2002 c. 9, Sch. 12 para. 1)
All repeals are therefore qualified and so the annotation would be “(with Sch. 12 para. 1)” – but again, this would in practice be marked on the front cover under “Savs etc.”
“These Regulations apply to institutions of further education.” (S.R. 2012/306, reg. 3)
In this case the SR sets out the scope or application of the SR. In this scenario the wording of the provision is not expressed in such a way as to obviously limit or qualify the effect. Instead it is positively phrased and clarifies who or what is affected rather than who or what is not. This is worth noting for the benefit of our users and it could imply that certain other persons/categories etc. are excluded. There is also the possibility that an implied limit on scope could make an apparently textual effect merely a non-textual one. The marking would go on the front cover under “Savs etc.” as: “reg. 3 for all effects”
“These Regulations apply with respect to any case where the driving of a vehicle has been prohibited under . . .” (S.R. 2012/19, reg. 3(1))
This is similar to the previous example.
Substantive savings
A substantive saving is simply a saving provision that preserves the pre-amendment position for some substantive purpose. The saving is not merely transitional or transitory but keeps the pre-amendment law alive indefinitely, perhaps in relation to some specified class of persons, circumstances etc.
Example:
“The amendments made by regulations 9 and 10 of these Regulations shall not apply in relation to the examination of vehicles classified . . . as vehicles of Class VI or Class VIA.” (S.I. 2003/1113, reg. 24(2))
In other words, for two entire classes of vehicles, the law as it stood prior to the amendments continues to apply indefinitely. The saving provision would be marked against regs. 9 and 10 as: “(with reg. 24(2))”.
[NOTE: There is no longer any distinction made between common form and substantive savings in the way in which they are indicated in the markup, in ToEs, or in the revised text. In the former practice, a substantive saving, such as the one above, would have been indicated in the annotation by using the form of words: “(with saving in reg. 24(2))”.
Powers
Power to Make Subordinate Legislation
Primary legislation often contains provisions that confer on someone (Her Majesty in Council, a Minister, the Secretary of State, a government department, or any other body or person) the power to make subordinate legislation, also known as secondary legislation. Subordinate legislation itself sometimes confers power to make other subordinate legislation (if the power to do so is in turn conferred by primary legislation).
Is it subordinate legislation for our purposes?
We are only interested in powers to make subordinate legislation of the types that are carried on legislation.gov.uk, mainly Statutory Instruments, Scottish Statutory Instruments, and Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland. (For a full list, see {http://www.legislation.gov.uk/browse legislation.gov.uk.
So, for example, s. 9(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12) provides that
"The Secretary of State may by order designate as a public telecommunication system any telecommunication system"
and s. 104(1) of the Act stipulates that
"Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order . . . under this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument"
This is therefore a power to make statutory instruments and is counted as a power for our purposes. On the other hand, s. 2(1) of the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010 provides that
“The Treasury may make a final designation of a person for the purposes of this Part . . .”
but doesn't say anywhere in the Act that this is to be effected by a statutory instrument. This is clearly a power to do something, which would doubtless involve making a document which would have legislative effect, but we don't count it as subordinate legislation and we would not treat this as a 'power' for our purposes.
Main and Ancillary Powers
A section in an Act may confer a power on a Minister, Secretary of State etc. to make subordinate legislation about a particular matter (the main power). Other sections may make further provision as to what may or must be included in, or done by, the instrument, who is empowered to make it and by what means it is to be made. We call these 'ancillary powers' and they are also treated as powers for our purposes.
An ancillary power may include provision defining, for example, “the Minister”, “prescribed”, “regulations” etc. Such terms are often defined together in the interpretation section of the Act. It may be a provision specifying the type of instrument to be used (e.g. "by regulations"). On the other hand, a provision merely specifying the relevant Parliamentary procedure is not treated as an ancillary power. Neither is a provision which specifies that the relevant powers are to be exercisable by statutory instrument. The criteria for identifying an ancillary power are set out in the official procedural guide for drafters, the Statutory Instrument Practice at paras. 3.11.11 to 3.11.23 in the 5th Edition. The relevant passages read:
"3.11.11 The preamble should recite every enabling provision that the SI derives its validity from or through, whether they are in primary or secondary legislation. It should specify the relevant section, subsection and paragraph."
"3.11.14 The enabling provisions include all of those that make clear:● what may, or must, be done;
● by what means something is to be done; and
● who is empowered to do it."
"3.11.15 For example, citing a provision that empowers ‘the Minister’ or ‘the Authority’ to ‘prescribe’ certain matters also requires a reference to:(a) the provision which defines the expression ‘the Minister’ or ‘the Authority’, or which specifies which Minister or Authority is to exercise the power;
(b) the provision which defines ‘prescribed’, which might define it as meaning specified in Regulations; and
(c) the provision (if any) which defines ‘Regulations’."
"3.11.21 You should cite a provision that specifies whether the power is to be exercised by the making of Rules, Regulations, an Order or some other kind of subordinate legislation."
"3.11.22 You should not cite provisions that merely specify the relevant Parliamentary procedure, or merely provide that the relevant powers are to be exercisable by SI."
Note that these instructions are directed to the drafter of secondary legislation, so this makes it clear that the provisions we want to identify as power-conferring in the Act should be the same as those that would be cited as enabling powers in the preamble to any instrument subsequently made under the relevant provisions of the Act. In other words, our job is to 'second guess' the drafter, so to speak.
As an illustration, the preamble to The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/52) tells us that the instrument is made under powers contained in ss. 22, 42(6) and 43(1) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c. 30). S. 22 of that Act confers on the Secretary of State the main power to make regulations providing for the making of grants or loans to students for any "prescribed purpose"; s. 42(6) (which makes general provision about orders and regulations under the Act) provides that ". . . regulations under this Act may . . . contain such incidental, supplemental, saving or transitional provisions as the Secretary of State thinks fit"; and s. 43(1) (interpretation) defines “prescribed” as meaning "prescribed by regulations". These last two are 'ancillary powers' and all three are powers for our purposes.
It is worth noting that, in this case, the provisions of the Act mentioned are only power-conferring at all for our purposes because of a provision which is NOT mentioned. S. 42(1) provides that "Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order or regulations under this Act shall be exercised by statutory instrument", but it is (correctly) not cited as an enabling power in the preamble to the S.I.
How to Identify Powers
UK and general
A power can occasionally be set out quite clearly in one place. For example, a section may provide that "The Minister may by order made by statutory instrument prescribe . . ." etc. However, in most cases you will need to refer to one or more other provisions to establish whether what appears to be a power really is one for our purposes. The examples below illustrate relevant provisions of Acts, and how they may inter-relate.
- The existence of a power may be indicated by a reference to the making of an order, regulations etc., or by words such as “may appoint”, "as may be appointed", “may prescribe”, "as may be prescribed". Although these terms strongly suggest a power, in each case you need to confirm that the power is exercisable by statutory instrument (or S.S.I. or S.R.).
- Approach the term “order” with caution as there are many types of order which are not secondary legislation. In particular, the power of a court to make a court order is not a power for our purposes. But note that Rules of Court, which regulate the machinery of justice, are always made by statutory instrument, and this can simply be assumed.
- Any power conferred by an Act on Her Majesty to make Orders in Council is exercisable by statutory instrument by virtue of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 (c. 36), s. 1(1)(a).
The provisions defining relevant terms, such as "prescribed", "regulations", "the Minister", etc. are sometimes in or near the section containing the supposed power. If not, you can usually find them in the interpretation section towards the end of the Act (or, sometimes, the Part or Chapter).
Similarly, you can usually find the provision that orders etc. are to be made by statutory instrument in the general provisions at the end of the Act, often in a section titled something like "Orders and Regulations". (If the power-conferring legislation is itself secondary legislation, these general provisions are usually to be found at the front of the instrument.)
NOTE: there are special rules relating to the secondary legislation of Scotland and Northern Ireland - see below.
Northern Ireland
The primary legislation of and for Northern Ireland (mainly Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Orders in Council) does not usually contain provision for orders, regulations, rules etc to be made by Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland (S.Rs.).
Such provision is unnecessary because the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1573 (N.I. 12) defines S.Rs. and specifies who can make them (“rule-making authorities”). Broadly speaking, this means that you can assume that where the Order or Act provides for orders, regulations, rules etc. to be made by the Secretary of State or a Northern Irish government department or minister, it is a power to make S.Rs.
If the power is given to some other body, you will need to check whether it is a “rule-making authority” under the 1979 Order, or whether there is provision in the legislation declaring such orders to be S.Rs. for the purposes of the 1979 Order. The Order also identifies statutory provisions empowering the making of schemes that are statutory rules. [Note that, where the relevant power is contained in a UK Act, it will only be exercisable by S.R. if the power is expressed to be so exercisable, by virtue of rule 4(a)(iv) of the 1979 Order. See the example in 2004 c. 33, s. 248(3) below.]
Scotland
From April 2011 Acts of the Scottish Parliament no longer need to specify that orders, regulations or rules made by the Scottish Ministers, the First Minister or the Lord Advocate are to be made by statutory instrument. The Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 10), s. 27 provides that all such instruments are to be Scottish statutory instruments (S.S.Is.).
The section also provides that Orders in Council made by Her Majesty under Scottish devolved powers, and Scottish rules of court, known as Acts of Sederunt and Acts of Adjournal, are to be S.S.Is..
Acts of the Scottish Parliament may still contain provision that other subordinate legislation, not falling within those criteria, are to be made by S.S.I. [Note that the 2010 asp does not affect the position in relation to UK primary legislation, so specific provision still needs to be made in UK Acts wherever orders etc. are to be made by S.S.I.]
Examples of powers
Act 1
The Civil Partnership 2004 (c. 33)
S. 21(1) “Notice must contain such information as may be prescribed by regulations.”
S. 14(2) “Regulations may make provision as to the contents of a civil partnership schedule”
S. 34(1) “The Chancellor of the Exchequer may by order provide for fees . . .”
S. 36(4) “Any power to make regulations or an order under [the above provisions] is exercisable by statutory instrument”. [Though not itself power-conferring, this establishes that the above provisions are.]
S. 43(2) “Rules of court may make provision for enabling . . .”
S. 239(1) “Her Majesty may by Order in Council make provision . . .”
S. 248(2) “The Department of Finance and Personnel may by order . . ."
S. 248(3) "The power to make an order under subsection (2) is exercisable by statutory rule for the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I.1979/1573 (N.I. 12))” [Again, not itself power-conferring, but establishes that the above sub-provision is.]
Act 2
The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 c. 52
Sch. A1 para. 169A(1) “The Secretary of State may by order make provision . . .”
Sch. A1 para. 169C(1) “An order under paragraph 169A . . . may . . ." [further details about what may be done by the order made under para. 169A]
S. 169(2) “An order under[Sch. A1] paragraph 169A or 169B shall be made by statutory instrument”
Act 3
Land Drainage Act 1991 (c. 59)
S. 22(2) “an application for an order . . . shall contain . . . such further particulars as the appropriate Minister may prescribe ...”
S. 48(4) “Every drainage rate shall be in the prescribed form . . .”
S. 65(1) "Each of the Ministers shall have power to make regulations . . .for the purpose of prescribing anything which may be prescribed under this Act . . .”
S. 65(2) "The power to make regulations under this section or any other provision of this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument"
S. 72(1) "“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under section 65 above”
Searching for main and ancillary powers
Finding powers requires close reading of the text in all cases, but it can be made easier by using the website search facilities, e.g. by using “trigger words” such as regulat*, rule, order, prescrib*, statutory instrument, appoint*.
(*this will ensure the inclusion of variants, such as “-ion”, “-e”, “-ed”, “-ing”)
Once you have found a “trigger word” ,you must still check the wording of the provision, and other relevant provisions, to ensure that a power to make subordinate legislation is indeed being conferred.
Additional points to note
- Inducing sections: Where a power is conferred by a paragraph in a Schedule, the inducing section in the body of the Act is not treated as a power-conferring provision (unless, of course, it contains another power itself).
- Whole provision only: Powers are always treated as residing at the level of the relevant whole provision, such as a section of an Act or a paragraph in a schedule. They are not treated for attribute (metadata) purposes as residing at the sub-provision level, or at the higher level of division (i.e. not at Part or Schedule level, unless, of course, that Part or Schedule is itself the lowest level of whole provision containing the power).
- Repealed provisions: Once a power-conferring provision is repealed, it obviously no longer confers power. What is less obvious is that the attribute 'confers power' is also removed from the metadata (unlike the 'extent' attribute which remains in place, even though it has no extent either).
Blanket Amendments
A provision may make an amendment or modification that is framed in such a way as to affect legislation generally rather than any specific enactment. We call this a “blanket amendment‟.
An example of a blanket amendment that changes the text of affected legislation might be: “For the words "Supreme Court Act 1981" wherever they occur in any enactment substitute "Senior Courts Act”.
During the identify and record effects tasks we will identify textual blanket amendments. We will identify which legislation is affected by the blanket amendments but we won’t work out and record every provision that needs to be changed as a result.
If you are presented with a “blanket amendment” type of effects you should:
- Read the affecting provision carefully and ensure you are clear on what words needs editing and whether there are any exceptions to the amendment.
- Open the whole Act on legislation.gov.uk and search for the words to be edited, the amendment will usually be a substitution. Make a list of all the affected provisions, it is helpful to add the list to the ‘notes’ against the blanket amendment effect so that the reviewer knows what you have changed.
- Use the Table of Contents to check out the most appropriate level of the Act in to which to carry out your amendment. For example, if there is only one change to one provision required you can check out the individual provision but if there are a lot of amendments you may want to check out a whole Part or even the whole Act.
- Follow the appropriate instructions for the amendment concerned, each time you carry out the amendment you should highlight the task in the ‘Resource Manager’ window and a new annotation will be created (unless the words are in the same provision and then you will get just one annotation).
- The annotation should read “Words in Act substituted XX” or “Words in Measure substituted” – the individual provisions will not be specified.
Errors in Legislation - Lex Errors
Very occasionally, when you are given an editorial task you will find an error in the legislation. This could be a typo (spelling or punctuation error, for example) or an instruction that doesn't make sense, for example to substitute a word in section 5, when there is no section 5.
If you find an error in the legislation don't correct it or make assumptions about what should be done. It's tempting to correct an obvious spelling mistake, for example, or to decide that the substitution was meant for section 4 not section 5, but doing do could cause serious problems. Instead, stop the editorial work that you're doing and consult a Review Editor. Describe the error, and copy and paste the link (URL) to the error in your email, so that the reviewer can see exactly where (and in which version) the error occurred.
There are three main ways that errors happen:
- The first are known as 'Lex Errors'. What this means is that the mistake was in the made and laid version of the legislation. The National Archives does not have the authority to make any changes to the laid version of an item of legislation. We need to contact the government department that made the legislation. If you find a Lex Error, send the details of the error in an email to the SI Registrar.
- Sometimes though, an error occurs during the transformation process (the process of taking the laid version and transforming it for publication on legislation.gov.uk) and the error is therefore in the XML. The errors may look similar to Lex Errors, but their cause is different and different action is required. We need to check what caused the error, and if it is an XML error, we can then fix it.
- Sometimes the error may have occurred because of a mistake in previous updating work. This sort of error can be fixed by the reviewer.
In summary, don't correct errors or make assumptions. Flag the error to a Review Editor and follow their advice. If a lex error is confirmed, email the details to the SI Registrar before moving on to the next editorial task.
Glossary
Where a term defined below begins with a capital letter, this indicates that the term usually begins with a capital letter when it is used in legislation or in annotations, whether or not it appears as the first word of a sentence.
Act A law enacted by a parliament or similar legislative body. In the UK, Acts may be made by the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament or the Northern Ireland Assembly. Historically, Acts were also made by the parliaments that met before the UK came into existence and by the Parliament of Northern Ireland (1921 to 1972). Acts are a form of primary legislation.
affected provision A provision (e.g. a section) subject to one or more changes or effects.
affecting provision A provision that gives rise to one or more changes or effects.
amendment An effect that changes the text of legislation. The term ‘amended’ is also sometimes used on legislation.gov.uk to indicate an effect that changes the meaning of the legislation even though the text itself is not changed.
annotation A note that appears at the foot of a provision (or under the associated heading if relating to a higher-level division) and which gives authority for an effect or extra information about the provision in general or a specific part of that provision.
Each annotation has a reference number and the nature of the information it contains is conveyed by the annotation type. For instance, F-notes identify amendments where there is authority to change the text, and I-notes contain information about the coming into force of a provision.
basedate The term we use for the starting point from which the revision of legislation on legislation.gov.uk (and previously on the UK Statute Law Database) has been carried forward. It is the date to which the text of the earlier hard copy editions had been revised when used as the originating text for the electronic version.
For most types of revised legislation on legislation.gov.uk, the basedate is 1 February 1991.
The originating text for most types of legislation was derived mainly from ‘Statutes in Force’ (SIF), an earlier official edition of the revised statute book. The final revision of SIF incorporated all effects of legislation made or enacted up to 1 February 1991, but the effects of a small number of consolidation Acts enacted after the basedate, in 1991 and 1992, were also incorporated.
For the revised legislation of Northern Ireland on legislation.gov.uk, the basedate is 1 January 2006.
The originating text for this legislation was ‘The Northern Ireland Statutes Revised’, the official edition of the revised statute book for Northern Ireland. The final revision of that text incorporated all effects of legislation made or enacted up to 31 December 2005.
blanket amendment An effect that is framed in such a way as to affect legislation generally rather than any specific enactment.
C-notes - Modifications etc (not altering text) ‘C’ stands for ‘Cross-notes’, so called because of the way in which they were presented in the hard copy predecessors to the revised content on legislation.gov.uk. This annotation type is used to denote the effect when the meaning, scope or application of an Act or provision etc. is changed in some way, but without there being any authority to alter the text. Typical expressions of effects of this kind are ‘modified’, ‘applied’, ‘excluded’, ‘extended’, ‘restricted’, etc.
changes The terms ‘changes’ and ‘changes to legislation’ are sometimes used on this site instead of the term ‘effects’.
Chapter
- The sequential number of an Act (except an Act of the Scottish Parliament) is called a ‘Chapter number’. For example, the Police Reform Act 2002 is Chapter 30 in the year 2002. ‘Chapter’ is usually abbreviated thus: Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30)
- A numbered level of division within an Act or other legislation. Chapters generally come below Parts but above cross-headings in the hierarchy.
Church Instrument A type of secondary legislation made by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York under authority contained in Church Measures.
"coming into force" date The date on which a legislative provision or an effect comes into force. Also known as the commencement date.
commencement The coming into force of a provision or an effect. The commencement of an item of legislation may be determined by a provision of the legislation itself, referred to as the ‘commencement provision', or it may be determined by a special type of Statutory Instrument known as a ‘Commencement Order’.
confers power This term is used where a provision confers power to make secondary legislation.
cross-heading In primary legislation, an italic heading that indicates the subject matter of a provision or group of provisions beneath it. In the hierarchical structure of legislation, it comes below Part or Chapter level but above the level of the lowest level of provision, such as the section in an Act. It is called a cross-heading because it is usually centred, running across the page. However, in the new style of drafting adopted for most primary legislation since 2001, cross-headings in Schedules (but not in the main body) are ranged left.
Note that in secondary legislation there are elements called cross-headings that may appear differently to those in primary legislation and do not necessarily serve the same function. For details of the headings used in secondary legislation, see the guidance in Statutory Instrument Practice.
division A term we use to denote any one of the hierarchical levels into which an item of legislation may be divided. For instance, the two main divisions of an Act are the main body and the schedules, and these are preceded by the long title, the short title and any other introductory text. Lower levels of division within the main body and schedules may include Parts, Chapters and cross-headings. The lowest levels of division in an Act are sections (in the main body) or paragraphs (in the schedules).
For further information see Structure of Legislation.
E-notes – Geographical Extent information This annotation type contains information about the geographic extent of the Act or relevant part of it.
E-notes are at present used very sparingly on SLD, mainly to indicate some complexity or change in the extent which is not adequately reflected in the extent provision of the Act (although they have been used more extensively in the past). They are also used where there are multiple versions of a provision created for different geographical extents.
effect Any impact that one legislative provision may have on another. The most familiar type of effect is an amendment that changes the text of the affected legislation, but there are also types of effect that do not change the text, such as where a provision is said to be ‘modified’ or ‘applied’. Other events, such as the commencement of a provision, are also treated as effects for the purposes of legislation.gov.uk. Note that an item of legislation, such as an Act, may contain internal effects. For example, a provision in an Act may modify or apply some other provision in the same Act. These internal effects are not generally annotated on SLD. The main exception is where an Act amends its own text, which may happen, for example, when an Act repeals itself, or part of itself, at some future date. Also, certain internal effects to do with commencement and extent may be recorded.
Executive Note An Executive Note sets out a brief statement of the purpose of a Scottish Statutory Instrument and provides information about its policy objective and policy implications. It aims to make the Scottish Statutory Instrument accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. ENs accompany any Scottish Statutory Instrument or Draft Scottish Statutory Instrument laid before the Scottish Parliament from July 2005 onwards.
exercise of power This expression may be used in annotations in a provision that confers power to make secondary (or subordinate) legislation to record the making of instruments under that power.
Explanatory Note Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act (or Measure) to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Explanatory Memorandum An Explanatory Memorandum sets out a brief statement of the purpose of a Statutory Instrument or a Northern Ireland Order in Council and provides information about its policy objective and policy implications. It aims to make the Statutory Instruments or Orders accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. EMs accompany any Statutory Instrument or Draft Statutory Instrument laid before Parliament from June 2004 onwards and any Statutory Rule laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly (or UK Parliament during the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly) since June 2004.
F-notes - Amendments (Textual) ‘F’ stands for ‘Footnotes’. This annotation type is used for amendments, including repeals, where there is authority to change the text.
geographical extent The geographical area within the UK to which legislation applies.
Each extent is represented by one of, or a combination of, England (E), Wales (W), Scotland (S) and Northern Ireland (NI). Thus, a UK extent is E+W+S+NI and a GB extent is E+W+S. This information can be displayed within revised legislation when it is being viewed by selecting ‘show geographical extent’ in the left-hand column. Every version of every provision, and every higher level of division, within an item of legislation is assigned its own extent. In the case of higher levels of divisions the extent will be set wide enough to include the extent of all the provisions within it.
In some limited cases there may be multiple versions created to represent differing geographical extents (previously referred to as concurrent versions of the Statue Law Database). Two or more versions of a provision (or other level of division of legislation) will be created where a substitution of text (or of the whole provision etc.) affects only part of the original geographical extent of the provision. Such versions have the same start date and continue to run alongside one another.
For instance, if there is a substitution of text in a provision that extends to the whole of the UK, but the substitution affects Wales only, two versions result: one for the provision in its unamended state to cover England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and one for the provision as amended to cover Wales.
hierarchy ‘Hierarchy’ and ‘hierarchical structure’ are terms we use to denote the levels of division within an item of legislation on legislation.gov.uk and the relationship between them. For example, the level of a cross-heading in an Act comes below the Part level in the hierarchy, but above the section level.
I-notes - Commencement information ‘I’ stands for ‘In-force’. This annotation type contains information about the coming into force of a provision and will typically state whether it is partly or wholly in force, give the date or dates of commencement and cite relevant provisions of the Act and any commencing instruments.
At present, I-notes are used only if there is some complexity in the commencement. If the provision came into force on one day for all purposes, no I-note will be created and the in-force date will be the same as the start date of the earliest version of the provision.
insertion Describes a specific type of amendment that one item of legislation has on another i.e. where new text is inserted into existing text. If the new text is to be placed at the end of the existing text, the term ‘added’ may be used instead.
introductory text A term we use to denote the text elements at the top of an item of legislation, below the title (or short title) but above the main body. In an Act, this will typically consist of the long title, the date the Act received the Royal Assent, and a conventional form of words to give effect to the Act called the ‘words of enactment’.
Latest available (revised): The latest available revised version of the legislation incorporating changes (i.e. amendments and other effects) made by subsequent legislation and applied by the legislation.gov.uk editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text can be found listed under ‘Changes to Legislation’.
legislation The generic term for laws of any type. The terms ‘piece of legislation’ and ‘item of legislation’ are used within some of our help information to mean a whole legislative document of any type, for example an Act or Statutory Instrument.
long title Acts and Measures have two titles, the ‘short title’ and the ‘long title’. The ‘long title’ sets out the purposes of the Act, sometimes at great length, whereas the ‘short title’ is a more convenient short form by which the Act will usually be known. For example, the Petroleum Act 1998 (short title) has a long title that reads: ‘An Act to consolidate certain enactments about petroleum, offshore installations and submarine pipelines.’ On legislation.gov.uk, the long title forms part of the introductory text of the legislation.
M-notes - Marginal citations This annotation type is so called because it used to appear in the margin of the Queen’s Printer’s copy of primary legislation. M-notes recite the year and number of an Act or instrument mentioned in the text.
"made" date The date on which a Statutory Instrument, or other item of secondary legislation, is formally brought into being. It may come into force at a different date. Secondary legislation is usually said to be ‘made’, as opposed to Acts and other primary legislation which are usually said to be ‘enacted’. For this reason, the phrase ‘made or enacted’ may be used on this site when referring to legislation generally.
Measure
- A type of primary legislation passed by the General Synod of the Church of England – see Church of England Measures in the Guide to Revised Legislation.
- A type of primary legislation passed by the short-lived Northern Ireland Assembly in 1974 (the present Northern Ireland Assembly passes Acts) – see Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly (and other primary legislation for Northern Ireland) in the Guide to Revised Legislation.
- A type of primary legislation passed by the National Assembly for Wales – see Measures of the National Assembly for Wales in the Guide to Revised Legislation.
Order in Council A type of legislation, made by the Queen on the advice of the Privy Council (a body consisting of Ministers of the Crown). These Orders may be made under powers contained in statute, in which case they take the form of Statutory Instruments, notably those to legislate for Northern Ireland during periods of direct rule. (Note, however, that many Orders in Council are made under the residual prerogative of the Crown. These are known as ‘Prerogative Orders’ and are not carried on legislation.gov.uk.).
Order of Council Such Orders differ from Orders in Council in that they are made by the Privy Council without the need for any approval by the Queen. Otherwise, similar considerations apply. They may be made under statutory powers (as Statutory Instruments) or under the prerogative, and in the latter case they are not carried on legislation.gov.uk.
Original (As enacted or as made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
P-notes - Subordinate legislation made ‘P’ stands for ‘Power exercised’. Where a provision of primary legislation confers power to make subordinate legislation and that power is exercised (i.e. an instrument is made in pursuance of it), that exercise may be recorded in a P-note. The annotation will cite any instruments made under that power. At present, the P-note annotation type is used only in respect of the making of commencement orders (distinguished by a ‘C’ series number after the number of the instrument) or other exercises of a power to appoint a day.
paragraph A provision, usually numbered, constituting on legislation.gov.uk the lowest level of division in a Schedule. (But note that the term ‘paragraph’ may also be used in legislation to denote certain levels of sub-division within a provision.)
Part A division of the main body or a schedule in an item of legislation, usually forming part of a numbered sequence of Parts.
A Part may be further subdivided hierarchically into Chapters, cross-headings and numbered sections (or paragraphs, if in a schedule).
Policy Note Policy Notes replaced Executive Notes in relation to Scottish Statutory Instruments during July 2012, and serve the same purpose.
power Generally used on legislation.gov.uk to mean a power to make secondary (or subordinate) legislation contained in a provision that ‘confers power’. The making of an item of secondary legislation in pursuance of such a power is referred to as an ‘exercise of power’.
preamble Words appearing near the beginning of an Act after the long title, stating the reasons for passing the Act. The use of preambles is optional and they are now rare. Any preamble would appear in the introductory text.
primary legislation General term used to describe the main laws passed by the legislative bodies of the UK (e.g. an Act of the UK Parliament). It is to be distinguished from secondary legislation.
prospective A term we use to indicate that a provision or an amendment has not yet come into force.
prospective version A version of a provision (or other level of division of legislation) with no start date, created as a result of an amendment that has not yet come into force.
provision The term provision is used to describe a definable element in an item of legislation that has legislative effect. Most commonly in the help documentation and messages on this site it will be used to refer to a section (or corresponding element such as a paragraph in a Schedule or an article in an Order) but it can also refer to higher level divisions such as Parts or Chapters.
Regnal years Regnal years refer to the year of the sovereign’s reign for the session of parliament in which the Act was passed and may be referenced when citing legislation made pre-1963.
repeal Describes a specific type of amendment where existing text ceases to have effect and may also be removed from the legislation. Repeals may also relate to a whole Act. The amending legislation may alternatively (or, in many cases, additionally) specify that words or provisions ‘shall be omitted’ or ‘shall cease to have effect’. (Where this last expression only is used, we do not treat this as authority to remove the text.)
repeals schedule A schedule in an item of legislation, usually at the end, in which the legislative provisions repealed by that legislation are listed.
revised legislation We use the terms ‘revise’, ‘revised’ and ‘revision’ to refer to the editorial process of incorporating amendments and carrying through other effects into legislation.
Schedule An item of legislation may have one or more schedules following the main body. Where this is the case, the Schedules (collectively) constitute a major structural division within the legislation. Within this higher level of division, there may be either a single Schedule or a series of numbered Schedules. (Note that the term 'schedule' is not usually spelt with a capital 'S' in Acts of the Scottish Parliament.)
Scottish Statutory Instrument A type of secondary legislation made under authority contained in Acts of the Scottish Parliament.
secondary legislation Delegated legislation, such as a Statutory Instrument, made by a person or body under authority contained in primary legislation. It is also referred to as ‘subordinate legislation’.
section A provision, usually numbered, constituting on legislation.gov.uk the lowest level of division in the main body of an Act or other primary legislation.
short title The title by which an Act or Measure is usually known. It is to be distinguished from the long title, which sets out the purposes of the legislation.
start date The start date of a version is the earliest date for which it had effect to any extent or for any purpose.
statute An item of primary legislation, such as an Act or Measure.
statute book A term we use to denote the totality of the statute law in force at any particular time.
Statutory Instrument A type of secondary legislation made under authority contained in Acts of Parliament.
Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland A type of secondary legislation, they are the Northern Ireland equivalent of Statutory Instruments.
Stop Date The date on which a version is succeeded by a new version or otherwise ceases to have effect.
subordinate legislation See secondary legislation.
sub-provision Any sub-division of a provision.
substitution Describes a specific type of amendment where existing text is replaced by new text.
successive versions A successive version of a provision (or higher level of division of legislation) is a new version that replaces an earlier version. A new version is created whenever the text is amended.
Timeline of Changes Facility on legislation.gov.uk providing access to revised legislation as it stood at specific points in time. The dates displayed on the timeline of any given provision are based on the start date of the amendment or amendments that gave rise to a new version of the provision to be created at that date. The timeline can be used to navigate through the versions to see how the provision being viewed has changed over time or may change in the future.
version
- On this site ‘version’ may to refer the ‘as enacted’ version of the legislation or the ‘latest available (revised)’ version. This information will be displayed in the ‘What Version’ area when viewing legislation.
- ‘Version’ is also used in the context of revised legislation to refer to one of any number of versions of a provision (or higher level of division of legislation) that may exist in any number of different versions, usually created as a result of amendments made to it. These versions can be viewed by showing the Timeline of Changes.
Wales Statutory Instrument A type of Statutory Instrument relating specifically to Wales made under authority contained either in Acts of Parliament or in Measures of the National Assembly of Wales.
words of enactment Formal words of legislative intent appearing at the beginning of an Act after the Long Title. Words of enactment appear in the introductory text.
X-notes - Editorial information The X-note annotation type is used sparingly to alert users to anything they may need to be aware of in using the text. They have been used, for example, to explain potential difficulties arising from variations in pre-SLD editorial practice over the years or to point to uncertainties in the text of very old Acts.