(ASTIK) 6 min read13 min Parliament was assured it would have an enhanced ability to review how newly introduced legislation is working in practice. But Hleb Buziuk says it is far from clear this vital part of scrutiny is taking place Parliament does have a general system for looking back at legislation. Since 2008, departments have been expected to publish a memorandum three to five years after Royal Assent explaining how the legislation has worked. A Commons select committee can then decide whether a fuller inquiry is needed. But the department and committee may agree that no memorandum is required. FairGo, the organisation that I help lead, tested how visible that system is in practice. We examined every substantive Public General Act passed at Westminster between 2008 and 2021 – 311 in all. We counted departmental memoranda, committee inquiries, statutory reports and other formal reviews covering all or part of an act. We began in 2008, when the modern system was established, and stopped in 2021 so that every piece of legislation had …