Legislative Process

• What are the 2 types of legislative bills?

  Private Members’ Bills and Public Bills
• What are Private Member Bills?

  Presented by individual or groups of MPs or peers
• Why do PMBs rarely succeed?

  Only takes one MP to oppose it for it to be blocked during the second reading
• What are Public Bills?

  Introduced by government ministers for their respective department. It is the most common type of bill
• What are Private Bills?

  Sponsored by an organisation with the intention of changing the law. Groups affected by Private bills have the right to petition parliament against it
• How are MPs who have applied for a private member’s bill selected?

  Drawn from a ballot and 20 are selected
• What is a White Paper?

  A document outlining the main intentions and terms of a Public Bill. It is presented to Parliament up to a year before it is converted into a bill. Parliament normally debates a White Paper and votes on it. Any potential problems are identified at White Paper stage.
• What is a Green Paper?

  A Green Paper is a government document that presents proposals for discussion and consultation before any legislation is introduced. Pressure groups and Think Tanks (and the public) can provide feedback
• Passage of a Bill through the chambers:

  1. First Reading
  2. Second Reading
  3. Committee Stage
  4. Report Stage
  5. Third Reading
  6. The House of Lords stages (same stages except committee stage, carried out by whole House)
• The Lords can put forward amendments and the bill can go back and forth before it becomes law
• What kind of bill can only be delayed for a month?

  Financial bills(e.g. the Budget)
• What happens in the First reading?

  A prepared bill is formally introduced to the chamber. There is no debate or vote and this stage simply enters it into the legislative process
• What happens during the Second reading?

  The proposer of the bill must present more details and be subject to questions and debate about the nature and content of the bill. A vote follows
• What happens during the Committee stage?

  The bill is scrutinised in detail by a public bill committee (standing committee). MPs debate and consider each clause of the bill and suggest amendments to make the meaning clearer. They consider various aspects, including expert witnesses and reports. This is where the fine detail and meaning of the law are written.
• The make-up of Public Bill Committees is in line with party strength in the Commons, with members chosen and instructed on what to do by the whips, so the government has a tight control on this process to prevent their own MPs from proposing amendments that they don’t like
• What happens in the Report stage?

  The whole House considers the amendments made and vote to accept or reject them. MPs who weren’t on the standing committee can also introduce proposed amendments here
• What happens in the Third Reading?

  The final version of the bill is presented and debated in the House of Commons, followed by a vote by the whole chamber. If successful, it passes to the House of Lords; if unsuccessful, it may return to the committee stage or be dropped entirely.
• What happens in the House of Lords stage?

  The bill is introduced to the House of Lords as a first reading and then continues through the whole process in the same way as it did in the Commons. If the Lords suggests any amendments, these must then be passed back to the Commons for approval or rejection and can be sent back and forth between the two chambers in a process often described as ‘parliamentary ping pong’. Once all variations have been resolved, the Lords votes and, usually, approves the final text.
• Once both chambers of Parliament have passed the bill, it is sent to the monarch, who gives it royal assent by signing it into law. Although a monarch could refuse to sign it, and thus effectively veto it, this has not happened since the reign of Queen Anne in 1708.