Commentary on Sections and Schedules Supplemental Section 56: Powers exercisable by statutory instrument
178.Section 56 governs the manner in which the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers must exercise their powers under the Act to make orders and regulations. Where a section in the Act creates a power to make orders and regulations, the section may also provide that the statutory instrument containing the order or regulation in question is subject to the negative resolution procedure or to the affirmative resolution procedure. Section 56(2) and (3) explain what these procedures involve. The different procedures involve different levels of Parliamentary scrutiny for the statutory instrument.
179.Subsection (5) provides that most of the powers to make statutory instruments can be exercised flexibly, so that (for example) powers can make provision for different approaches to be taken in relation to different cases or different areas. This flexibility does not apply to the power to make commencement orders under section 60(2).