Parliamentary Law Making (PLM)

• In order to become an Act of Parliament, a Bill usually has to be approved by both Houses of Parlaiment.

  In order to do this it must go through a 7 stage 'legislative process'.

  A Bill can start its journey in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, except for finance Bills, they must start in the House of Commons.
• Parliamentary Legislative Process:

  1. First Reading
  2. Second Reading
  3. Committee Stage
  4. Report Stage
  5. Third Reading
  6. Opposite House
  7. Royal Assent
• First Reading - the title of the bill is read out in either the House of Commons (75%) or the House of Lords (25%) to introduce it. Bills about finance can ONLY be in the Commons.
• Second Reading - the House will debate the bill and then hold a vote.
• Committee Stage:

  • the bill will be examined in detail, line-by-line, by a smaller committee of 16-50 MP's in the House of Commons, or the whole House Committee in the House of Lords.
  • they are usually experts on the topic and will look to make amendments or remove parts.
• Report stage - the changes made by the Committee are reported back to the House - this is not needed if no changes are made.
• Third Reading - the final debate on the bill and the final vote in that House.
• Passed to Other House:

  • if the bill started in the House of Commons, it will now be passed to the House of Lords to repeat stages 1-5 (and vice versa).
  • Once complete, the bill will be passed between the Commons and Lords until the both agree on a final version - this is called 'Parliamentary Ping-Pong'.
  • Since the Parliament Act 1911 and 1949, the House of Lords can no longer refuse a law - they can only delay it for one year, after which time the Commons can pass it without their approval.
• Royal Assent - the monarch signs off on the bill and it becomes a law. This is a formality and has not been refused since 1707.
• Parliamentary Legislative Process:

  • Following Royal Assent the Act of Parliament will come into force on midnight of that day, unless another date has been set. This is called the Commencement Date.
  • Sometimes a law - or some parts of it - will state that Government Minister will decide when it comes into force. Can mean the law actually never comes into force.
  • Happened with Easter Day Act 1928 which intended to set the date of Easter Day - which was passed but has still not come into force.
• Advantages:

  • Democratic Process - MP's are elected by the people and are accountable to them if they do not do as the public wish. For example, 2010 the Liberal Democrats promised to lower tuition fees at university - when they actually raised them, they lost votes at the next election. There are also opportunities for public involvement at the green paper stage, or through the influences.
• Advantages:

  • Reform full areas of Law - some areas of law cover wide topics and many different elements of an area of law. The Parliamentary Law-Making process allows all these areas to be changed together to give a fresh start. Was seen with Criminal Justice Act 2003, which affected various different parts of criminal law.
• Advantages:

  • Consultation on changes - both the Green Paper stage and during the Committee Stage there is consultation with experts and interested parties. For example, green paper about Children's Mental Health in 2017 attracted feedback from schools, parents and medical professionals. MP's and peers can also consult and bring up points during debates.
• Advantages:

  • Allows detail to be added later - to make laws future proof, is important to make sure that minor details can be amended later on without needing to repeat whole process - can happen through delegated legislation. Example: Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 allows more breeds of dog to be added to the banned list if necessary.
• Disadvantages:

  • Long Process - due to the various different stages and also the requirement for both houses to agree, some laws can take years to get passed - and most take months. By the time it becomes law, the issue is no longer an issue. Although some legislation can be fast-tracked - such as with the Coronavirus laws in 2020 - this often makes the law flawed and rushed.
• Disadvantages:

  • Government control - the government have too much control over which laws are introduced and the timetabling about when they can be debated. Can mean some areas go ignored if they are not on their agenda. Example, current Conservative government are prioritizing certain policies - but this means that issues other parties would prioritise, such as the environment, may be left until last.
• Disadvantages:

  • Lack of time - despite it being long process to change laws in Parliament due to the different stages, some stages are given limited times and sometimes debated are cut short when more time is needed. Example, when there are pressing matters such as Brexit or Coronavirus, often less urgent bills will have their debates cut short.
• Disadvantages:

  • Complexity - some areas of law are very complex and needed much more involvement from experts on those areas - e.g. complex tax laws or medical laws. MP's and peers may not be knowledgeable enough to make these laws.