Clear and accessible legislation is the key to balancing the rights and obligations of citizens in a democratic society. Individuals and businesses need sensible, fair and effective laws which have been properly scrutinised.
Scrutiny
The Law Society welcomes the increase in pre-legislative scrutiny in recent Parliaments. Nonetheless, too much legislation is enacted with serious unintended consequences due to a lack of proper consideration. Legislation must be driven by considered debate, scrutiny and evidence rather than hasty, populist headline-grabbing. Equally, the efficacy of legislation should be assessed post-passage to ensure that it is having the intended effect.
Too much legislation is fragmented and unclear, necessitating clarification of detail through secondary legislation or through 'soft law', such as government guidance. Neither secondary legislation nor 'soft law' is subject to sufficient scrutiny.
Clarity
Legislation should also be clear and accessible. Greater engagement between the public and the body politic can never be achieved without proposals which are comprehensible and less complex. Openness and transparency means more than being able to physically access the detail of provisions ? it also means being able to understand them.
The Law Society calls on all parties to commit to:
- Striving for transparent and accountable laws and law-making;
- Extending pre-legislative review and implementing post-legislative review;
- Either reducing the use of Statutory Instruments or increasing scrutiny of secondary legislation;
- Relying less on the use of 'soft law', such as guidance, to clarify legislation;
- Publishing government circulars and guidance systematically and comprehensibly;
- Fully implementing Law Commission proposals;
- Introducing a Reform and Repeal Bill which would aim to repeal laws which are outdated, unnecessary or burdensome.
Tax law
Tax law in the UK is notoriously unclear and complex. For the sake of both individuals and business it is imperative that steps are taken to improve the drafting of current and new tax law, to improve tax administration and to ensure that new legislation is subject to proper scrutiny.
The Law Society calls on all parties to commit to:
- Creating a permanent tax advisory body to recommend reform and simplification of existing law, monitor its application and scrutinize new legislation as it proceeds through the Parliamentary process;
- Changing the tax year to operate on a calendar basis (1 January – 31 December), with a self assessment deadline of 30 September;
- Applying fixed dates for the Pre-Budget Report and the Budget.
Read our manifesto for improving tax law (PDF, 83kb)