Parliamentary Law Making

Question 1

Describe the House of Commons. (Members of Parliament)

Answer 1

• Made up of 650 Members of Parliament
• Each MP is elected to represent a constituency

Question 2

Describe the House of Lords (Peers)

Answer 2

• Made up of around 800 unelected members (peers)
• 700 appointed life peers, as are 26 Archbishops
• 96 Hereditary peers inherit their seats.

Question 3

What is the name for a draft act of Parliament

Answer 3

A Bill

Question 4

What are the 4 types of Bills

Answer 4

Public Bill
Private Bill
Private Members’ Bill
Hybrid Bill

Question 5

Describe the Public Bill

Answer 5

• Affects the whole Country
• Put forward by the Government
• E.g EU (Withdrawal) Bill

Question 6

Describe the Private Members’ Bill

Answer 6

• Affect the whole country
• Put forward by back bench MPs
• Less likely to become law unless supported by Government
• E.g Abortion Act 1967 (MP David Steel)
  Voyeurism (Offences) Bill
  Homeslessness Reduction Act 2017

Question 7

Describe a Private Bill

Answer 7

• Change the law regarding specific individuals or organisations
• Anyone “specially & directly” affected can petition against the Bill
• E.g Middle Level Bill
  Uni College London Act 1996

Question 8

Describe a Hybrid Bill

Answer 8

• Mixes characteristics of Public and Private Bills
• Affects general population but will have impact on specific groups or individuals
• Often involve large infrastructure projects
• Longer procedure to allow affected parties to “petition”
  -E.g High Speed Rail Bill

Question 9

What is the Pre-legislative process Order

Answer 9

1 - Green Paper
2 - White Paper
3 - Draft Bill

Question 10

Describe the Green Paper

Answer 10

• Consultation document which sets out the governments proposals
• Brought to the attention of parties likely to be affected by the new law
• Issued by Government Departments
• E.g Competition & Markets Green Paper 2018

Question 11

Describe a White Paper

Answer 11

• Policy documents produced by government
• Firm Proposal of Law
  E.g Winston Churchill White Paper 1922

Question 12

Describe the Draft Bill

Answer 12

• Parliamentary draftsmen turn the white paper into Formal Legal Language

Question 13

What is the Legislative Process Order

Answer 13

1 - First Reading
2 - Second Reading
3 - Committee Stage
4 - Report Stage
5 - Third Reading
6 - Other House
7 - Royal Assent

Question 14

Describe the First Reading

Answer 14

• Bill is formally introduced to Parliament
• Name of Bill & the main aims of the bill are read out

Question 15

Describe the Second Reading

Answer 15

• Bill is introduced by the Gov Minister or MP responsible for it
• Main principles of the bill are debated
• Vote is held to decide if it can proceed to next stage

Question 16

Describe the Committee Stage

Answer 16

• Line-by-Line consideration of the detail of the bill
• Done by a Standing Committee made up of 16-50 MPs
• Those with special interest & knowledge of the subject of the bill will be chosen for the committee.
• They can make amendments

Question 16

Report Stage

Answer 16

• Amendments done by the committee are reported back to the house
• They are debated & voted on.

Question 17

Third Reading

Answer 17

• Final vote on the bill without anymore debate unless 6 MPs request one.

Question 18

Other house

Answer 18

• Once the bill receives the right votes, it gets sent to the Other House
• Whole process is repeated in HoC/HoL

Question 19

Ping Pong Stage

Answer 19

• Bill passes back between both houses until they have both agreed on the exact wording of the bill.
• They must agree/disagree to the amendments.
  E.g EU ( Withdrawal Bill ) - HoL introduced a number of amendments.

Question 20

Describe the Royal Assent

Answer 20

• Monarchs agreement to make the bill into an act at midnight of that day
• Monarch will only see the Short Title
• A Bill was last refused in 1708 by Queen Anne (Scottish Militia Bill)

Question 21

Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949

Answer 21

• Commons can use this act to pass the bill without the consent of the Lords.
• Rare
  E.g Hunting Act 2004.

Question 22

Adv: Elected members of the HOC can consider, debate & amend & vote on legislation, making this a democratic Process

Answer 22

Disadv: Members of the HoL can debate, suggest amendments & vote on legislation even though they are not elected. Unelected people are not accountable for the decisions they make, which may lead to poor quality law.

Question 23

Law will have been thoroughly discussed & scrutinised before being brought into force as it goes through a lenghty discussion process.

Answer 23

Lenghty discussion process can cause the process of Bill becoming an Act to take several months. E.g Consumer Rights Act 2015 took 14 months from 1st reading to Royal Assent

Question 24

Before a Bill is presented to Parliament, there will often have been consultation on the proposed bill. This allows the government to take into consideration objections & further suggestions.

Answer 24

Gov and Parl dont often have the time to deal with all the reforms that are proposed. Parliament has to prioritize issues that are politically significant. E.g Law on Assaults

Question 25

Parliament can act on reports & draft bills prepared by the Law Commission. The research put into it can result in less contentious and better drafted legislation.

Answer 25

Principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty is undermined when Parliament has not passed a law in an area of law. If this is discovered when a case comes to court, Judges are allowed to create precedent which contradicts Parliament Sovereignty.