‘The term Private Acts of Parliament (PA) is widely used to include local Acts, that benefit organizations such as local authorities or authorize major infrastructure projects and are often of limited geographical extent, or personal Acts that benefit individuals. This post considers the reasons for the decline in the enaction of Local Acts of Parliament (LAs), which began in the nineteenth century with the process of enacting local legislation by provisional order. Provisional orders were introduced as a substitute for LAs and were issued by a Minister following a local inquiry, under the authority of an Act of Parliament, but required a later individual and specific confirmatory Act of Parliament. Although their occasional use has persisted, they in turn were largely replaced by Special Procedure Orders following the passing of the Statutory Orders (Special Procedure) Act in 1945.’

Full Story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 11th February 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org