Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994

Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994[a]
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to amend, and make provision for the amendment of, statutory provisions and rules of law in order to remove or reduce certain burdens affecting persons in the carrying on of trades, businesses or professions or otherwise, and for other deregulatory purposes; to make further provision in connection with the licensing of operators of goods vehicles; to make provision for and in connection with the contracting out of certain functions vested in Ministers of the Crown, local authorities, certain governmental bodies and the holders of certain offices; and for purposes connected therewith.
Citation1994 c. 40
Territorial extent 
[b]
Dates
Royal assent3 November 1994
Commencementvarious[c]
Other legislation
Amends
Amended by
Relates to
Status: Amended
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (c. 40) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning deregulation.

Provisions

It introduced wide-ranging measures with aims including reducing burdens on people in trade created by previous acts such as the Shops Act 1950 (14 Geo. 6. c. 28), changes in transport legislation, changes in utility legislation, and changes in financial services, among others.

It also contained so-called Henry VIII clauses, which meant ministers could amend previous primary legislation through statutory instrument, where they are only be approved or rejected, but not amended.[1]

The act restricted the remit of competition law.[2]

The act was largely repealed and replaced by the Regulatory Reform Act 2001. Part II of the act, which as of July 2023 remains in force, includes a general power to outsource "any function of a Minister or office-holder" if the minister "by order so provides".[3]

Application

The act was used in 2007 to enable graves to be reused.[4]

Repeals

The following acts were entirely repealed by this act:[5]

The following acts were partially repealed by the act:[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Section 82(1).
  2. ↑ Section 82(8).
  3. ↑ Section 82(2)–(5).

References

  1. ↑ Hatchett, Will (7 July 1999). "An act of folly". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Scott, Andrew (2009). "The Evolution of Competition Law and Policy in the United Kingdom" (PDF). London School of Economics and Political Science. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 July 2026. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Text of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
  4. ↑ "Graves to be re-used for burials". BBC News. 5 June 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 schedule 17". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010.


This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.