parliamentary law making

• what is the full process of parliamentary law making?

  green paper, white paper, consultation stage, first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, third reading, royal assent
• what is a green paper?


  a consultative document issued by the government that puts forward proposals for new laws or reform of the law
• what is a white paper?


  a document issued by the government stating its decisions as to how it is going to reform the law
• what is a bill?


  a draft of an act of parliament
• what are the types of bill?

  public bill, private members bill, private bill
• what is the consultation stage?


  The consultation stage is when the draft bill is discussed and consulted on before moving to the first reading
• what is the first reading?


  a formal procedure where the name and main aims of the bill are read out. This is an informal vote in the House of commons and no official vote takes place
• what is the second reading?


  the second reading is the main debating stage in the house of commons where they need a majority vote in order for the bill to proceed. members of parliament do this by voting through doors
• what is the committee stage?


  this is when a smaller group of 16 - 50 MPs look at the clause of the bill and make the necessary amendments
• what is the report stage?


  this is when the amendments made during the committee stage are reported back to the house of commons and voted on
• what is the third reading?


  this is when the bill is voted for if it should go further or not. a bill is less likely to be voted out in this stage
• what happens to a bill after the third reading?


  the bill moves from the house of commons to the house of lords where the process is then repeated before being sent to the king
• what is royal assent?


  the king is the figurehead of the country and must sign a bill in order for it to be approved. if the king signs it then it becomes a new law or act of parliament. this then gets passed straight away or a commencement date is set
• parliament acts 1911 and 1949

  the house of lords can reject a bill after it has already passed the stages in the house of commons
• what happens if a bill is rejected?


  they can either be voted out fully e.g euthanasia bill. or they can be reintroduced at the next parliamentary session
• house of commons

  consists of 650 elected MPs. a general election is heard every 5 years and they sit in green seats
• house of lords

  800 unelected lords aka peers. these are appointed by the prime minister if they have a specific area of expertise
• what is a public bill?


  these are also known as government bills. most acts of parliament come from public bills. They affect everyone in the country and are introduced by a government minister in the house of commons. for example the health minister would introduce an NHS bill (Coronavirus Act 2020 ). The bill is drafted by government lawyers and is a draft of an act e.g equality act 2010
• what is a private members bill?


  these often dont become law. they can be introduced by an mp from any party or anyone from the house of commons e.g. the age of criminal responsibility was started by a lord but has not become law. a successful private members bill was introduced by david steel and is the abortion act 1967. bills can be introduced using a ballot or the ten minute rule
• what is a ballot used in a private members bill?


  a ballot is when 20 mps are selected to introduce their bill
• what is the ten minute rule in a private members rule?


  this is when any MP can make a ten minute speech setting out their proposal for a law or the reform of a current law
• what is a private bill?


  these are usually proposed by organisations e.g local authorities, and private companies. they change the law for a specific group of people rather than the whole public. they can either start in the house of commons or house of lords. about 2 new private bills are introduced per parliamentary session e.g the strikes bill 2023
• advantage of the legislative process - democratic process

  one advantage of the legislative process is that it is democratic. parliament is elected and therefore representative of public issues. a government that introduces an unpopular bill will not be reelected. this makes the law accessible and allows for the public to be involved in law making. the democratic nature of making a law upholds the rule of law.
• advantage of the legislative process - clear and fair laws

  one advantage of the legislative process is that the house of lords acts as a checking body and ensures that the government is introducing clear and fair laws. they have the power to reject a bill and protect citizens from abuse of power. the upholds the doctrine of the separation of powers as the body proposing the law is separate from the legislature to avoid bias.
• advantage of the legislative process - thoroughly checked

  one advantage of the legislative process is that an act goes through multiple stages in different houses which means that it is checked thoroughly which reduces the risk of errors. this means that the law should work well in practice and there should be no injustices. because a range of people with different opinions are consulted it allows for any minor errors to be amended during the process
• advantage of the legislative process - flexibility

  one advantage of the legislative process is that it is flexible. due to the different bills, there is flexibility within the law because it doesn't have to be the government who propose the laws. a member of the public can introduce a new law through their MP. this is favorable because it means that the public plays a part in law-making which upholds democracy
• disadvantage of the legislative process - time consuming

  one disadvantage of the legislative process is that it is long and can take months or years for a bill to pass. This could cause injustices to happen whilst the process is happening. a proposed law may also be abandoned if a new government comes into power which wastes tie and money. however, in an emergency acts can be passed within days which could mean they are rushed e.g the dangerous dogs act 1991
• disadvantage of the legislative process - not fully democratic

  one disadvantage of using the legislative process is that it is not fully democratic as only MPs in the House of commons are elected. the house of lords are appointed not voted in. Labour has said that they would change this and allow for the public to vote for the second chamber. this is different from other countries as they vote for both houses. this is a disadvantage because it shows that the public role in law making is limited
• disadvantage of the legislative process - outdated

  one disadvantage of the legislative process is that some laws are still outdated. A lot of old acts still exist such as the offence against the persons act 1861. old acts that use outdated language should be updated. old acts make it difficult for the public to understand the law which goes against the rule of law stating that the law should be accessible to everyone. despite detailed law commissions, parliament often ignore proposals for reform of old laws
• disadvantage of the legislative process - private members bill

  one disadvantage of the legislative process is that private members' bills rarely become law. a government with a large majority can vote against a law that doesn't fit their agenda. MPs are also not experts in all areas which means that errors will often occur during these sessions. this is a disadvantage because errors may make it through and effect the legitimacy of the law created