The primary legislative authority in the UK is the British Parliament, it does, however, delegate some powers to ministers. The European Communities Act (1972) fundamentally altered the legislative position of Parliament as it became subject to EU law, both indirectly through directives and directly through regulations.

The main functions of Parliament are to:

• examine proposals for new laws
• provide the means of carrying out the work of government
• scrutinise Government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure
• debate the major issues of the day.

Parliamentary government in the UK is based on a two-chamber system: The House of Lords (the Upper House) and the House of Commons (the Lower House). The legislative process involves both Houses, though the House of Commons has the power to overrule the House of Lords. The political party that controls the House of Commons forms the Government. The Government usually has an overall majority in the Commons and controls the legislative timetable. As such, the Government has considerable power over what is discussed in examining proposals for new laws.

Acts of Parliament create statute law, the main source of waste management law in the United Kingdom. A draft law takes the form of a parliamentary Bill. The Bill becomes an Act once it has gone through the necessary stages in both Houses of Parliament and the Queen has signified her assent, these days a formality (Figure 1). The majority of Bills, which have to go through all of these stages to become law, are proposed by the Government. However, some parliamentary time is allocated to Private Members' Bills and there is a lottery to decide who will be allowed to introduce one.

Regulations are a form of delegated legislation, which sets out much of the detail not included in statutes. UK environmental statutes are often in the form of framework Acts, which require delegated legislation to be effective (Ball and Bell 1991).

Figure 1 How a Bill becomes an Act

SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM BEARDSHAW AND PALFREMAN 1986

Proposals for new legislation affecting waste management would normally be put forward by The Department for Environment, Food and Regional Affairs (DEFRA). The work of Government departments such as DEFRA is scrutinised by a number of select committees, which are appointed by both the House of Lords and the House of Commons to perform a variety of tasks on the Houses' behalf. In particular, during the 2000-01 session of Parliament, The Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs produced its fifth report, which focussed specifically on delivering sustainable waste management. The report brought evidence from stakeholders and Government alike to produce a critical document on the current state of waste management in the UK, and made the following observations relating to waste strategy and legislation:

• the Government lacks imagination and vision, particularly in relation to its Waste Strategy 2000 for England and Wales
• the Landfill Tax should be increased to at least £25 per tonne and the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme should be overhauled (see UK Legislation Affecting Waste Management)
• key players such as the Government and the Environment Agency (see The Environment Agencies) should be more active in embracing policy, enforcement and strategy (Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs 2001)

As most European legislation is in the form of directives, it does not normally apply directly in the UK. EU directives set out standards and procedures that must then be implemented by EU Member States through their own legislative systems.