An Act from 1979 allowing referendums for a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly is among more than 200 “dead laws” that are cluttering up the statute book, according to the Law Commissions.
In Statute Law Repeals: Twentieth Report, published last week, the Commissions set out a Draft Bill to repeal the obsolete laws.
The laws include the Statute of Marlborough 1267, which was passed during the reign of Henry III and is one of the oldest surviving pieces of legislation.
Sir David Lloyd Jones, Chairman of the Law Commission for England and Wales, and Lord Pentland, Chairman of the Scottish Law Commission, say: “This Statute Law Repeals Bill is the result of rigorous research and thorough consultation. If implemented, its provisions will help to make the law easier to understand and simpler to use.”