The legislative processGeorgie Holmes-SkeltonSenior Clerk, House of Commons Public Bill Office

Types of Bills• Public Bills

– either Government or Private Members’ Bills• Private Bills

– “legislation of a special kind for conferring particular powers or benefits on any person or body of persons – including individuals, local authorities, companies, or corporations” (Erskine May)

• Hybrid Bills– affect “a particular private interest in a manner different from the

private interest of other persons or bodies of the same category or class” (Speaker Hylton-Foster)

– Eg. Crossrail Bill

Stages of a Bill

Second Reading

• First substantive proceedings on the Bill, usually a whole day

• Debate on general principles of Bill• Debate will usually be opened or wound up by Cabinet

minister in charge of the Bill• Opponents of a Bill can table a “reasoned amendment”

– statement of reasons why Bill should be rejected• Often no vote at Second Reading

What’s next?

• Most Bills committed to a Public Bill Committee• Some Bills considered “in Committee” on the floor of the

House: known as Committee of the whole House (CwH)– Major constitutional importance (e.g. Fixed-Term

Parliaments Bill)– Emergency legislation (e.g. Northern Ireland (St Andrews

Agreement) Bill)– Uncontroversial Bills (e.g. Geneva Conventions and United

Nations Personnel (Protocols) Bill)• Bills can be divided between CwH and PBC – Finance Bill

Public Bill Committee

1. Take oral and written evidence– Public can submit evidence like a Select Committee inquiry– Written evidence published on website and circulated to

Members

2. Line-by-line scrutiny of the Bill

Public Bill Committee

Whip

Whip

Order of consideration• Text of Bill considered in a set order:

– Clauses– New clauses– Schedules– New schedules– Preamble (if any)– Title (if amended)

• Programme motion can vary this order, usually to debate schedules after the clauses to which they apply

Amendments

• Can be tabled by any Member of the House• Clerks advise backbenchers and Opposition

front bench on amendments as required• Amendments grouped together to assist

debate• Amendments must be in order: relevant

and within scope• Chair has power of selection of

amendments• Not all amendments formally put to

decision

Tip: amendment papers can be found on the Bill pages at www.parliament.uk/business/bills-and-legislation

Report Stage and Third Reading• New version of Bill “as amended in Committee” printed and debated on the

floor of the House• Any Member can table amendments• Grouping and selection as at Committee, but more stringent• Different order of consideration

– New clauses– Amendments to clauses– New schedules– Amendments to schedules

• Third Reading: – one hour, immediately after Report– Similar to Second Reading

What now?

• After Third Reading, Bill goes to the House of Lords• Lords undertakes same process with some differences

– Committee stage in the Lords on the floor of the House

– No programming– Amendments possible at Third Reading– Financial legislation (“Money Bills”) passed with

little scrutiny– No Government majority

Ping-pong (Consideration of Amendments)

• Either:– No amendments in Lords, straight to Royal Assent

• Or:– amendments sent back to Commons for consideration– Commons can accept, disagree, amend, offer amendments in

lieu– “ping-pong” between Houses can go on for some time– Bill can be lost on “double insistence”– Reasons Committees

Royal Assent

• Once both Houses agree the text of a Bill, submitted to the Queen for Royal Assent

• Speaker announces Royal Assent in the Commons

The Parliament Acts

• The Parliament Act 1911 and the Parliament Act 1949 define the relationship between the Commons and the Lords in terms of the passage of legislation

• If Commons passes a Bill in two successive Sessions and the Lords rejects it, it can become law after the second rejection without the consent of the Lords

• Used very rarely – last was the passage of the Hunting Act 2004

Any questions?