Passage of Legislation Flashcards
What is a bill? Primary legislation?
A bill is a proposal for new legislation (an Act of Parliament), or a proposal to change an existing law, presented for debate before Parliament.
Acts of Parliament are known as primary legislation.
The proposed wording of the legislation is given to Parliament to consider in full.
A bill can be proposed to Parliament in the following ways:
• Proposed by Government
• Proposed by MP (Private Member’s bill)
• Proposed by member of Lords (Private Peer’s bill)
How is a bill proposed by government?
If a particular government department has a proposal for a bill, it must submit a bid for that bill to the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee (PBLC) of the Cabinet, chaired by the Leader of the House of Commons.
The PBLC decides which bills will proceed to Parliament, taking into account a number of factors.
The PBLC decides which bills will proceed to Parliament, taking into account a number of factors, including:
- Is legislation needed, or can a similar outcome be achieved without it?
- Does it support the government’s political priorities?
- Has the proposed bill been published in draft form for consultation?
About a month before the beginning of a parliamentary session, the PBLC will finalise the Government’s legislative agenda. It is announced in the King’s Speech at the opening of the new session of Parliament.
Different process for secondary legislation
Secondary legislation is made under powers granted to the relevant Secretary of State in primary legislation, often known as the “parent act”.
Secondary legislation usually takes the form of Statutory Instruments (‘SIs’).
Not all secondary legislation is put to Parliament for consideration. This depends on the procedure mandated by the primary legislation:
- Affirmative resolution procedure
SIs must be debated and approved by both Houses of Parliament. - Negative resolution procedure
An SI does not need active approval by Parliament. It will automatically become law unless either House passes a motion to reject it (usually within 40 days).
Before being put before Parliament, the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments scrutinises the government’s secondary legislation to make sure it is clear and within the powers granted by the primary legislation.
Where do Bills starting in the Commons need approval from? Exception? How about government?
Most proposed primary legislation can start either in the Commons or the Lords but will need the approval of both Houses.
(The only exception to this is if the Parliament Act procedure is used, in which case it is possible to bypass the Lords.)
For bills introduced by the government, the decision whether to start in the Commons or the Lords is made by the PBLC with a view to ensuring a balanced programme of legislation in each House. By convention, bills on constitutional matters start in the Commons.
What are the Initial Stages of a Bill
• First Reading
• Second Reading
• Committee stage
What happens in the First and Second reading of a bill?
The First Reading is a formality – there is no debate on the bill at this stage.
The Second Reading is a debate on the main principles of the bill, held in the chamber.
- A Government minister will open the debate by setting out the case for the bill and explaining its provisions.
- The Opposition will respond and then other members are free to discuss it. The Government will close the debate by responding to the points made. No amendments can be made to the text of the bill at this stage, although members may give an idea of the changes they will be proposing at later stages.
- At the end of the debate the House will vote on the bill. If the vote is lost by the Government, the bill cannot proceed any further, though it is rare for a Government bill to be defeated at this stage.
What happens in the Committee stage?
This stage involves a detailed consideration of the bill.
In the Commons, this can be done in the chamber, or by a specially convened committee of MPs called a Public Bill Committee.
In the Lords, the detailed reading may also be done in the chamber, or outside it. Any peer can participate in this.
A Public Bill Committee in the Commons can:
- Take oral and written evidence about the subject matter of the bill
- Propose amendments
- Propose wholly new clauses
Amendments will need the approval of the PBLC before going on to the next stage.
What happens in the Report stage and third reading?
In both Houses, the report stage takes place in the chamber.
Only amendments proposed at committee stage are discussed.
In the Commons, the third reading takes place immediately after the Report.
No amendments can be made at this stage. In the Lords, third readings take place later, and amendments can be tabled.
What are the Final Stages?
Both Houses must agree on the text of a bill before it can become an Act. This means that, if the bill is amended in the second House, it must return to the first House for those amendments to be considered.
The first House can reject the amendments, make changes to them or suggest alternatives. A bill may move backwards and forwards between the two Houses before agreement is reached, so this stage is sometimes called “ping pong”.
The time taken to go through all these stages depends on the length of the bill, how controversial it is and whether it needs to be passed particularly quickly.
An emergency bill may be passed in a matter of days, whereas a larger bill may be introduced at the beginning of the session and only passed at the end a year later.
How does Royal Assent factor into this?
In order for a bill to become law after it has passed both Houses after third reading, Royal Assent is also required.
The monarch can give Royal Assent in person, but this has not happened since 1854. The King’s agreement to give his assent to a bill is a formality. By convention, the monarch does not refuse assent, though he is legally entitled to.
When Royal Assent has been given, an announcement is made in both Houses – by the Lord Speaker in the Lords and the Speaker in the Commons.
The legislation may then come into force immediately, or after a period of time specified in the legislation, or on a later date following a ‘commencement order’ by the minister.
A commencement order is designed to bring into force the whole or part of an Act of Parliament at a date later than the date of the Royal Assent.
If there is no commencement order or other provision, the Act will come into force at the beginning of the day on which it receives Royal Assent.
What are Private Members’ Bills (PMBs)?
These are proposals for primary legislation introduced by MPs and Lords who are not government Ministers.
Like public bills, Private Members’ bills can be introduced in either House and must go through the same set stages.
However, as less time is allocated to these bills, it is less likely in practice that they will proceed through all the stages.
In the Commons, Private Members’ bills have precedence over government business on thirteen Fridays in each parliamentary session.
Private members’ bills have on occasion made very significant changes to the law.
Examples include:
o The Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965 was introduced as a PMB by Sydney Silverman M.P.
o The Abortion Act 1967 was introduced as a PMB by David Steel M.P. but was then backed by the government.
o The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 introduced legislation intended to help reverse the trend of community decline, also called ‘Ghost Town Britain’.
How did Parliament Acts 1911 and 1941 pass public bills?
In certain situations, it is possible for a public bill to be passed on the basis of a procedure first introduced in the Parliament Act 1911.
This initially allowed a bill being sponsored by the government to be sent for Royal Assent without the approval of the House of Lords, if the Lords refused to consent to it for a period of two years.
This time period was further reduced to one year through the Parliament Act 1949.
The reason for this procedure being introduced in 1911 was because of the collapse of a long-standing convention, under which the House of Lords did not block financial legislation (“money bills”).
This happened following a radical budget introduced by Lloyd George in 1909, which was strongly rejected by the Lords. After two years of constitutional crisis the Liberal government of the day decided to legislate in order to formally reduce the delaying powers of the House of Lords.
Use of the Parliament Act procedure has been quite sparing over time. It has only been called upon seven times in total, the last being in 2004 with the Hunting Act. This use of the procedure was particularly notable as it led to a challenge to the legality of the Hunting Act itself in the case ofR (Jackson) v Attorney-General (2005).
Some legislation can be passed without the approval of the House of Lords, under…
…the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.
