Chapter 6 - Legislation - final

Question 1

What are the three types of legislation?

Answer 1

• Private Bills.
• Private Members’ Bills.
• Public Bills.

Question 2

What are Private Bills?

Answer 2

Bills applied for by public organisations or groups that wish to do something the law currently forbids; if Parliament passes the Private Bill then the public may go ahead.

Question 3

What are Private Members’ Bills?

Answer 3

Legislative proposals presented by individual or groups of MPs or peers.

Question 4

What are Public Bills?

Answer 4

The majority of bills are Public Bills. They are legislative proposal by government and are expected to pass without much obstruction.

Question 5

What is a White Paper?

Answer 5

A document outlining the main intentions and terms of a Public Bill. It is presented to Parliament a year before being converted into a bill and Parliament normally debates and vote at this White Paper stage.

Question 6

What are the 6 stages of Bill to become law?

Answer 6

• First reading.
• Second reading.
• Committee stage.
• Report stage.
• Transfer.
• Royal assent.

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Question 7

When are Public Bill Committees formed?

Answer 7

A Public Bill Committee is formed for each piece of legislation.

Question 8

How many members are there usually on Public Bill Committees?

Answer 8

18

Question 9

What is the makeup of Public Bill Committees and who decides them?

Answer 9

The government always has a majority reflecting its strength in the whole House, ensuring the government can win any vote at committee stage; party whips decide who will sit on committees.

Question 10

How is the committee stage conducted in the Lords?

Answer 10

It is a committee of the whole house.

Question 11

When has royal assent not been refused by?

Answer 11

1707

Question 12

Which chamber introduces Public Bills?

Answer 12

Both the Commons and the Lords can introduce Public Bills but usually it is the Commons.

Question 13

When might the Lords be obstructive to a piece of government legislation?

Answer 13

When it introduces something it does not have a mandate for.

Question 14

What happened to the Salisbury Convention during the coalition of 2010-15?

Answer 14

The convention became less important as both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats lacked an electoral mandate.

Question 15

What must happen to all amendments proposed by the House of Lords?

Answer 15

They must go back to the Commons and can be overturned.