parliamentary law making

• parliament background 


  the supreme law making body in the uk

  made up of the House of Commons

  most laws parliament passes are drawn up by the government
• where do ideas for new laws come from


  public opinion, media or pressure groups
• green papers


  consultation document produced by the government to gain views about proposed legislation from a variety of interested bodies and people
• white papers


  set out the government's preferred approach to a future piece of legislation

  set of firm proposals drafted by parliamentary draftsmen in the form of a bill
• bills


  a proposal for a new law or to change an existing law that is presented for debate before parliament
• private bills


  put forward by local authorities or large public companies, only change the law as it appeals to specific individuals or organisations rather than the general public - (Medway council act)
• public bills


  change the laws that apply to the whole county, they're divided into:

  government bills - controversial and reflect the political views of the party in power

  private member's bills - most don't become law, but by creating public policy around an issue they may affect legislation indirectly
• hybrid bills


  propose laws which affect the general public but also have a significant impact for specific individuals or groups. propose works of national importance but in a specific area of the uk
• the passage of a bill


  first reading

  second reading

  committee stage

  report stage

  third reading

  the other house

  royal assent
• bill first reading


  short title of the bill is read out and an order is made for the bill to be printed
• bill second reading 


  MPs debate the bill usually focusing on larger principles. debate conducted via the speaker, MPs who wish to speak much catch the speaker's eye to be called on. vote at the end is required for the bill to proceed by verbally shouting 'aye' or 'no'. if there is no legal agreement there is a formal vote
• bill committee stage 


  detailed examination of bill. in House of Commons, most bills are considered by 15-50 MPs, they are chosen due to expertise in specific fields, entitled to scrutinise every detail of the bills,
• bill report stage


  committee will report back to the house on any changes made to the bill, amendments will be accepted or rejected,
• bill third reading


  gives the house a final chance to look at the bill as a whole, with all its amendments and decide whether they want it to go further, the bill can't be changed substantially at this stage, if there are no challenges, it will be passed to the Other House
• The Other House


  bill passed from House of Commons to House of Lords for amendments, then passed back to commons for further amendments and may then return to lord, 'ping-pong' until agreement
• royal assessment 


  final part of parliamentary process, monarchy formally approves the bill, becomes an act of parliament,