King on Framework Legislation and Henry VIII Powers

Professor Jeff King gives evidence to Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee on framework legislation and Henry VIII powers.

31 March 2025

GCDC Deputy Director Professor Jeff King, along with Dr Adam Tucker, gave written evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee as part of its inquiry into framework legislation and Henry VIII powers. The inquiry aimed to explore how these mechanisms operate and their effect on parliamentary scrutiny.

In their submission, King and Tucker outlined key characteristics of framework legislation, identified when it would be appropriate to use such legislation, and highlighted the challenge of ensuring adequate parliamentary scrutiny. They also identified possible solutions to mitigate the scrutiny problem, such as establishing a presumption against the use of framework legislation or requiring the publication of draft regulations alongside such legislation.

King and Tucker also presented views on Henry VIII powers and the contexts in which they may be used appropriately. They noted that, like framework legislation, Henry VIII powers pose similar scrutiny and legitimacy problems. To mitigate these problems, they suggested that such powers should only be granted when there is a clear justification to do so, and the powers should be subjected to heightened scrutiny procedures.

King and Tucker’s submissions were cited multiple times in the Committee’s final report, which was published in March 2025. The report is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website.