Public Law Concentrate 5e Resources is no longer available and it was replaced by Public Law Concentrate, 8e.
Timeline of recent legislation
Timeline of recent legislation
Date |
European Union Act 2011 |
19th July 2011 |
This Act contains important provisions imposing restrictions on treaties and decisions relating to the European Union. The most important of these is that any treaty which amends or replaces the Treaty on European union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union cannot be ratified except by Act of Parliament following a referendum. This Act also provides that the status of European Union law exists purely on a statutory basis. |
Date |
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 |
15th September 2011 |
This Act contains provisions relating to the dissolution of Parliament and when a general election can be called. |
Date |
Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 |
15th September 2011 |
This Act abolishes the Metropolitan Police Authority and creates the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime. It reconstitutes the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis who is now accountable to the Mayor of London. Outside London the Act abolishes the Police Authorities created by the Police Act 1996 and makes provision for the election of Police and Crime Commissioners, supported by a panel, to which chief constables are accountable. |
Date |
The Localism Act 2011 |
15th November 2011 |
The Act devolves greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and gives local communities more control over housing and planning decisions. |
Date |
Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 |
14th December 2011 |
The provisions in the Act follow on from the Coalition Government’s 'Review of Counter-Terrorism and Security Powers', published in January 2011. The Act abolishes the system of control orders, established under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, and replaces it with a new regime designed to protect the public from terrorism, called Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures. |
Date |
The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 |
1st May 2012 |
The Act includes a wide range of measures which are relevant to police powers, public order, terrorism, freedom of information and the criminal justice system. They relate to Chapters 13, 14 and 15. The Act:
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Date |
The Scotland Act 2012 |
1st May 2012 |
The Act implements recommendations of the Final Report of the Commission on Scottish Devolution (the Calman Commission). It would make changes to the finances of the Scottish Parliament, including a new Scottish rate of income tax, and make a number of adjustments to the boundary of devolved responsibilities. |
Date |
Succession to the Crown Act 2013 |
25th April 2013 |
This Act makes the succession to the Crown not dependent on gender. It also enables a future monarch to marry a Roman Catholic. |
Date |
Justice and Security Act 2013 |
25th April 2013 |
This Act provides for oversight of the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service, the Government Communications Headquarters and other activities relating to intelligence or security matters. It provides for closed material procedure in relation to certain civil proceedings and prevents the making of certain court orders for the disclosure of sensitive information. |
Date |
Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 |
30th Jan 2014 |
This Act makes provision for, and in connection with, the abolition of the Audit Commission for local authorities and the National Health Service in England. It makes provisions about the accounts of local and certain other public authorities and the auditing of those accounts. It makes provisions about the appointment, functions and regulation of local auditors. It makes provisions about data matching. It makes provisions about examinations by the Comptroller and Auditor-General relating to English local and other public authorities and about the publication of information by smaller authorities; to make provision for directions to comply with codes of practice on local authority publicity. It also makes provisions about council tax referendums. |
Date |
Wales Act 2014 |
17th Dec 2014 |
The Act makes changes to the electoral arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales (“the Assembly”), gives effect to many of the recommendations set out in the first report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales (“Silk Commission”) and makes a number of technical changes to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (“GOWA 2006”) and other legislation in order to update the operation of the devolution settlement in Wales. |
Date |
Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 |
12th Feb 2015 |
The Act is in 5 Parts and contains 16 Schedules. Part 1 and Schedules 1 to 8 make provision about criminal justice including provision about sentencing and the release and recall of offenders, the electronic monitoring of offenders released on licence, drug testing in prisons and about the giving of cautions. Part 1 also contains provision about certain offences and sentences. .Part 2 and Schedules 9 and 10 make provision about the detention of young offenders, about giving cautions and conditional cautions to youths and about referral orders. .Part 3 and Schedules 11 to 15 make provision about courts and tribunals including provision creating a new procedure for use in criminal proceedings in the magistrates’ courts in certain circumstances, provision about the committal of young offenders to the Crown Court for sentence, provision about the recovery of the costs of the criminal courts from offenders, provision about fundamental dishonesty in personal injury claims and the offer of inducements to bring personal injury claims, provision about appeals and costs in civil proceedings, provision about juries and members of the Court Martial and provision about reporting restrictions applying to under-18s. Part 4 and Schedule 16 make provision about the refusal by the High Court and the Upper Tribunal of relief in judicial review proceedings, about funding and costs in relation to such proceedings and about the procedure for certain planning proceedings. .Part 5 contains a power to make provision consequential on or supplementary or incidental to the other provisions of the Act and general provisions including about the commencement of the Act and its extent. |
Date |
The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 |
12 Feb 2015 |
This Act strengthens the legal powers and capabilities of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to disrupt terrorism and prevent individuals from being radicalized; ensures that the law enforcement and intelligence agencies can disrupt the ability of people to travel abroad to fight, and control their return to the UK; enhances operational capabilities to monitor and control the actions of those in the UK who pose a threat, and help to combat the underlying ideology that supports terrorism |
Date |
European Union Referendum Act 2015 |
27th Dec 2015 |
This Bill makes provision for the holding of a referendum in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar on whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. |
Date |
Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 |
28th January 2016 |
The aim of this Act is to devolve powers and budgets to boost local growth in England, by devolving far-reaching powers over economic development, transport, and social care to large cities which choose to have elected mayors. |
Date |
Scotland Act 2016 |
23rd March 2016 |
This Actamends the Scotland Act 1998 and makes provision about the functions of the Scottish Ministers. |
Date |
Wales Act 2017 |
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The Wales Act 2017 recognizes the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government as permanent among UK’s constitutional arrangements, with a referendum required before either can be abolished. The Act also recognizes that there is a body of Welsh law made by the National Assembly for Wales. This does not change the single England and Wales jurisdiction. |