Number of changes to existing legislation fell 16% in 2011, says report

The number of changes to existing legislation caused by new laws fell 16% in 2011, according to a leading legal information provider.

The analysis by Sweet & Maxwell, based on its online service Westlaw, suggested that there were 25,708 amendments last year.

This compares to 30,614 in 2010 and is the lowest figure since 2002. The highest figure recorded by the publisher in the last decade was for 2005 (34,681).

Sweet & Maxwell also reported that the absolute number of new laws – Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments – fell by 8% to 1,727 in 2011. This was down from 1,872 the previous year, adjusted to exclude minor legislation relating to work on roads and motorways.

“Regardless of whether the measure used to assess new laws is either items of legislation, or the number of changes made to existing legislation, (and therefore the complexity added to the ‘statute books’), the data indicates a slackening in the pace of new legislative change,” the publisher said.

It added: “The reduction in legislation is noteworthy as there has been a long term trend to increase legislation to deal with the increasing complexity of the modern world and to respond to calls on the Government to act.

“While governments might frequently announce an intention to reduce the burden of new legislation, in practice this can be very difficult to achieve.”

Sweet & Maxwell pointed out that a number of major pieces of legislation in 2011 related to attempts to reduce the deficit, such as the Pensions Act, the Public Bodies Act and the Localism Act.