the passage of a bill

• most new laws start as bills created by the government
• the bill published as a white paper is read out in parliament
• most bills begin in the House of Commons but can sometimes begin in Lords
• after the first reading of the bill, there is a debate about the bill at the second reading
• after the second reading, MPs can vote in whether they support the bill
• after the MPs have voted, the committee stage follows, a small group of MPs from different parties form what is called a public bill
• the committee return the bill to the house of commons with any changes they wish to make
• if the bill started in the House of Commons, it will be sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny
• once an agreement is reached, the bill is finally sent to the monarch for royal assent