Question
Facts: the Minister of Housing and Local Government refused Lavender’s application for planning permission to develop land for use as a quarry, after hearing objections from the Minister of Agriculture. The decision was challenged on the grounds that the Minister of Housing and Local Government had effectively delegated the decision to the Minister of Agriculture.
The ruling in Lavender prohibits delegation to another agency. However, executive decision makers often find that the number of decisions they have to make outstrips their capacity to make them: it would be physically impossible (and scarcely good use of their time) for the Home Secretary or one of her deputy ministers to read everyone’s passport application.