Delegated legislation or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom is law that is not enacted by a legislative assembly such as the UK Parliament, but made by a government minister, a delegated person or an authorised body under powers given to them by an Act of Parliament. Statutory Instruments are the most frequently used type of secondary legislation, with approximately 3,500 made each year, although only about 1,000 need to be considered by Parliament. They usually have either rule, order or regulation in their title. Secondary legislation is used for a wide variety of purposes such as fixing the date on which an Act of Parliament will come into force; setting fees for a public service; or establishing the details of an Act of Parliament. Delegated legislation is dependent on its parent act, which prescribes its parameters and procedures. Although a large volume of delegated legislation is written without close parliamentary scrutiny, there are statutory instruments to prevent its misuse. Background Delegated legislation is derived from its parent act, which prescribes its parameters and procedures. Delegated legislation saves parliamentary time by considering matters of technical detail. Such details are prepared by those with relevant expert knowledge. Through its inherent flexibility, delegated legislation accommodates changing circumstances such as changing fees for public services, developments in science or minor changes in government policy. Delegated legislation, allows the rapid drafting of emergency powers. In comparison to Acts of Parliament, which may take much time to pass, the flexibility of delegated legislation can be used to solve problems of governance in a timely way. Delegated legislation is officiated by signature of the author or his authorized representative. In the case of the monarch, only her verbal assent is required. A statutory instrument related to the parent act is required to write delegated legislation. It ensures the legislation is catalogued and published by the Queen's Printer. Exceptions are directions and by-laws where notifications are made to affected entities. Criticism of delegated legislation may arise, firstly because it is subject to a lesser degree of parliamentary scrutiny than Acts of Parliament. Secondly, it may be used to remove from the scrutiny of the parliament matters that are causing difficulty for the government by designating them "matters concerning detail". Thirdly, within the large volume of delegated legislation there may be little public knowledge of changes being made. However, the statutory instruments are in place to prevent misuse.