Sources of LawEssay title: Sources of LawSOURCES OF LAWAll the sources have a relevance to the operation of business and management which means that managers and employees have to be aware of them and their different features.
PRINCIPAL FEATURES1. STATUTE. law made by the Government known also as legislation and statute.a. This is law made by Parliament. A Bill goes through several procedures and debates in Parliament and when it is finally agreed it receives the Royal Assent. This is now a formality as our system of government is known as a constitutional monarchy. This means that the Queen is the Head of State but holds no real power as this is vested in the government.
b. Once an Act is passed it remains law until it is amended or repealed by a later Act of Parliament. Therefore, some Acts are old and yet still are relevant modern law. Some examples of particular relevance are The PARTNERSHIP ACT 1890 and The GAMING ACT 1845.
c. It is very relevant to business and management with such impact as in The Employment Rights Act 1996, The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Companies Act 1985. All of these are relevant to the study of this unit.
d. Statutes can cover criminal law and civil law issues.2. DELEGATED LEGISLATION made by bodies authorised by the Government to make regulations to deal with certain types of behaviour.a. These do not go through Parliamentb. They can be Orders in CouncilStatutory InstrumentsBy laws.c. The Courts can become involved if the delegated body acts beyond its powers.d. The reasons for the growth in the use of delegated legislation arise from the following facts:-Lack of Parliamentary time to debate.Complex 21st. century society. Operation of the welfare state etc.Many matters are of a technical natureDelegated legislation has a particular relevance to management in the area of health and safety. In 1992 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations were introduced by means of Statutory Instrument (SI 1992/2051) These contained far more detail than existed previously.
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There was a concern in the first Parliament that the health care legislation will lack public consultation to reach its full potential. This is not the case and we have asked that the Government continue its own preamble which allows the Secretary of State to refer to a number of Acts by which legislation can be enacted to make such legislation. The Minister for Health and Social Care has agreed to give Parliament 60 days to agree to a series of statutory proposals which would include:
• Improving provision for people at risk of disease and disability by making specific arrangements for people over the age of 65 of persons who are at high risk of cancer or diabetes;
• Providing people with the means to seek care by making appointments for specialist care, by providing a referral to the Health Services and Community Services (GSS, DH) Office for the provision of services, or by providing referrals to the Health Officers.
In the new law, this will mean people aged over 65 with cancer are not able to seek, or have the opportunity to seek, specialist care.
An opportunity for people at high risk of cancer to seek specialist care
Some of these people are, however, at high risk of cancer. This means people at high risk of cancer will struggle with access to specialist care. They are particularly at risk because of changes in the system of care it provides over the first 12 months of the new law to support patients and their family to access specialist care at reasonable cost.
This includes:
• Access to services in hospitals where there are no high-risk patients.
There is another reason for this lack of public consultation: the changes in legislation have led to increasing demand for care. There is still a large backlog in place. In August this year, Health Minister David Gauke told The Sunday Telegraph: “We need to create an opportunity for people at high risk to seek specialist care. And no matter what, the people living with cancer for many years go ahead and get specialist care.
“We hope that this government is prepared to take strong action to fix the funding gap and secure access for patients and families affected by disease and disability. If this is to be done, we need a new system which can provide a reliable and high quality care for people in need.”
Baroness Wilkie, former Chief Secretary of State for Health Affairs, said in September that it was “extremely frustrating” that the Government’s preamble only included a section to prevent Parliament from using Parliament for its own good.
She added: “People are very scared to talk about this Government, and my experience shows that Parliament is at risk of acting into its own hands with its legislative powers. The Government has been able to get through Parliament in a very sensible way.
“One of those powers is how much people are actually given a right to decide about the future of their loved ones. Some people get more than others. There is a huge public debate about this. The Government are now not going to have any responsibility for who gets given the right to decide.”
NB. Once delegated legislation comes into force it has full legal authority and the rules must be followed.THE COMMON LAWThis is one of the oldest sources of law and it differs from the above in that the law is not written down. It is based upon principles