Constitution Committee The Legislative Process: Preparing Legislation for Parliament Oral and written evidence Contents Alliance for Useful Evidence—Written evidence (LEG0026) .............................. 4 Alliance for Useful Evidence—Oral evidence (QQ 16-28) .................................. 9 The Bar Council of England and Wales—Written evidence (LEG0009) .............. 31 Sir David Bean, Chairman, the Law Commission—Oral evidence (QQ 102-112) 36 Better Government Initiative—Written evidence (LEG0001) ........................... 46 Better Government Initiative—Oral evidence (QQ 1-15) ................................ 50 Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law: Part 1—Written evidence (LEG0016) ....... 51 Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law: Part 2—Written evidence (LEG0017) ....... 68 The British Academy—Written evidence (LEG0022) ...................................... 95 The Rt Hon. Professor Paul Burstow, former MP and Minister of State for Health, and Chair of the Joint Committee on the Draft Care and Support Bill— Oral evidence (QQ 76-88) ........................................................................ 99 Chartered Institute of Taxation—Written evidence (LEG0018) ...................... 100 Judge Michael Clements, President of the First-tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber—Oral evidence (QQ 42-48) ............................................ 110 David Cook, Second Parliamentary Counsel—Oral evidence (QQ 89-101) ...... 111 Dr Conor Farrington, University of Cambridge—Written evidence (LEG0012) .. 112 Dr Ruth Fox, Hansard Society—Oral evidence (QQ 1-15) ............................. 118 Elizabeth Gardiner, First Parliamentary Counsel—Oral evidence (QQ 89-101) . 145 Dr Mark Goodwin, Lecturer in Politics, University of Birmingham & Dr Stephen Bates, Lecturer in Politics, University of Birmingham—Written evidence (LEG0006) .. 146 Daniel Greenberg, former Parliamentary Counsel—Oral evidence (QQ 49-56) 150 Dr David Halpern, Behavioural Insights Team—Written evidence (LEG0028) .. 159 Dr David Halpern, Behavioural Insights Team, Cabinet Office—Oral evidence (QQ 16-28) .......................................................................................... 164 Mr Martin Hoskins, former Specialist Adviser to the Joint Committees on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill and the Draft Communications Data Bill— Oral evidence (QQ 76-88) ...................................................................... 165 Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association—Oral evidence (QQ 36-41) ......... 166 Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association—Written evidence (LEG0029) ...... 177 Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)— Written evidence (LEG0024) ................................................................... 194 Institute for Government, the Alliance for Useful Evidence and Sense about Science—Written evidence (LEG00008) .................................................... 203 Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)—Written evidence (LEG0027)207 The Law Commission of England and Wales—Supplementary written evidence (LEG0032) ........................................................................................... 211 The Law Society of England and Wales—Oral evidence (QQ 57-62) ............... 214 The Law Society of Scotland—Written evidence (LEG0025) .......................... 215 The Law Society of Scotland—Oral evidence (QQ 57-62) ............................. 223 Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel—Oral evidence (QQ 63-75)234 Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira, University of Leeds, and Dr Louise Thompson, University of Surrey—Written evidence (LEG0011) ..................................... 243 Liberal Democrat Constitutional Affairs Team—Written evidence (LEG0021) ... 246 Rt Hon. David Lidington MP, Leader of the House of Commons—Written evidence (LEG0010) ........................................................................................... 252 Rt Hon David Lidington MP, Leader of the House of Commons—Oral evidence (QQ 89-101) ........................................................................................ 255 Emran Mian, Social Market Foundation—Oral evidence (QQ 29-35) ............... 280 MillionPlus—Written evidence (LEG0004) .................................................. 291 Nesta—Written evidence (LEG0007) ......................................................... 296 Professor David Ormerod, Law Commissioner for Criminal Law and Evidence—Oral evidence (QQ 102-112) .......................................................................... 300 Judge Julian Phillips, Resident Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber—Oral evidence (QQ 42-48) ............................................ 301 Mark Ryan, Coventry University—Written evidence (LEG0005) ..................... 302 Sir Ernest Ryder, Senior President of Tribunals—Oral evidence (QQ 42-48) ... 305 Professor Richard Susskind OBE FRSE—Written evidence (LEG0031) ............ 314 Professor Richard Susskind OBE FRSE—Oral evidence (QQ 113-121) ............ 319 Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association—Written evidence (LEG0014) ............... 338 Rt Hon. Valerie Vaz MP, Shadow Leader of the House-Written evidence (LEG0030) .......................................................................................................... 349 Andrew Walker QC, Vice Chairman-Elect of the Bar Council and the Vice Chairman of the Bar Council Law Reform Committee—Oral evidence (QQ 57-62) .......... 353 Chris Walker, Independent Housing Consultant—Oral evidence (QQ 29-35) ... 354 The Rt Hon. Steve Webb, former MP and Minister of State for Pensions —Oral evidence (QQ 76-88) .................................................................... 355 Dr Edgar A. Whitley, London School of Economics and Political Science; and co–chair Cabinet Office Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group (PCAG): Part 1— Written evidence (LEG0019) ................................................................... 375 Dr Edgar A. Whitley, London School of Economics and Political Science and member of the Quality Assurance Group for the Consultation on Better use of data in government, part of the Open Policy Making Process: Part 2—Written evidence (LEG0023) 381 Alliance for Useful Evidence—Written evidence (LEG0026) Alliance for Useful Evidence—Written evidence (LEG0026) 1. The Alliance for Useful Evidence champions the use of high quality evidence to inform decisions on policy and practice in the UK and beyond. We do this through research, training, advice and advocacy. With a growing network of 3,000 individuals, we work with allies in government, local authorities, and charities. Core funding comes from the Big Lottery Fund, the Economic and Social Research Council, and Nesta. Please note that we have also made a submission on the Evidence Transparency Framework with Sense about Science and the Institute for Government. 2. There are many factors that influence the creation of government policy and legislation. One factor is research evidence. We recommend that there is more use of trustworthy research evidence when preparing legislation for parliament. Research evidence can help diagnose the problem that needs to be addressed, and also look at what might me the most effective (and cost- effective) policy options.1 What is vital is that policymakers use the most appropriate evidence to answer their questions – rather than just following any type of study that looks credible.2 3. It is no longer the case that research evidence is hard to locate and lost in academic journals. There are many sources of high quality research and social science – summarised in a way that is actionable by policymakers involved in pre-legislation. As well as the support of the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries, there are other freely available resources open to all policymakers. Links to a range of sources of evidence can be found in our infographic of the UK evidence ecosystem.3 4. When gathering research evidence to prepare legislation, it is essential not to rely on single studies. The single study could be a ‘flash in the pan’ and not replicated elsewhere. Policymakers should look for trusted bodies of evidence. A tried-and-tested approach, now commonplace in health, is the systematic review. When preparing legislation for parliament, policymakers should use more systematic reviews. Reviews are less well known outside of healthcare. But they can provide significant insights into social, environmental, transport and economic policy. They are NOT literature reviews, but something 1 For more about the range of benefits evidence can have to policy making, see Section C of Using Research Evidence; A Practice Guide, Alliance for Useful Evidence, 2016. http://www.alliance4usefulevidence.org/assets/Using-Research-Evidence-for-Success-A- Practice-Guide-v6-web.pdf This guide informs our Evidence Masterclass training. We are also piloting this training with the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology for Peers, MPs and staff, as part of the cross-Commons working group working on Members Professional Development. 2 See Appendix A on matching different types of evidence to policy needs This model was adopted from DEFRA , but can be translated into the pre-introduction legislation for other policy areas. 3 https://www.alliance4usefulevidence.org/infographic/ Alliance for Useful Evidence—Written evidence (LEG0026) more robust. The approach that is effectively described by Ben Goldacre, the scientist and writer: ‘Instead of just mooching