the legislative process Flashcards
what is a bill?
A bill is legislation that has been proposed.
what are the legislative stages in order?
first reading
second reading
committee stage
report stage
third reading
amendments considered
royal assent
first reading
First reading
The reading stage is the announcement that at a particular bill has started the legislative process
At the first reading stage , the bill becomes available to be viewed and scrutinised by everyone
second reading
At the second reading stage, there is a debate in the chamber over the bill and the members of the House of Lords or Commons decide if it should be accepted in principle
The case in favour will be outlined by a government minister, and then a member of the opposition will respond alongside backbenchers, and there will be a debate
Following a debate over the bill, a vote will take place and if successful then the bill will move forward. If the chamber votes against the bill, then it will be defeated
committee stage
A committee will consider the bill and examine it in detail
The committee will decide whether to make changes to, or remove, any clause within the bill and consider amendments to the bill proposed by the government or members of the House of Lords and Commons .
In the House of Commons, a standing committee reviews the bill, which is made up of members of Parliament from different parties, but must of the committee will be members of the party in government
The committee stage in the House of Lords involves any members who wish to participate and will often happen in the main chamber of the House.
what is the name of the standing committee who reviews the bill?
Public Bill Committee
report stage
The report stage involves the discussion of amendments that have been made in the committee stage, and takes place in the main chambers of the House of Commons and Lords with all members of each House.
The chamber will agree or reject the proposed amendments to the bill by voting and more amendments may be added
third reading
The third reading stage involves a discussion of the bill and what it is in it
At the third reading stage, amendments are no longer made in the House of Commons
In the House of Lords amendments can be made but only if the amendments have not been previously considered in the earlier stages of the legislative process
After the discussion , the members of the chamber will vote on whether they approve the bill
amendments considered
After the third reading stage, the bill will return to the chamber where it began for consideration of amendments. - the House of Lords and House of Commons will consider the amendments proposed by the other chamber which they will accept or disagree with
A bill will go between both chambers until an agreement is reached over the wording of the bill
If an agreement cannot be reached between the House of Commons and House of Lords, then the bill will fail to become a law
royal assent
A bill must be approved by the monarch for the bill to become a law, termed an Act of Parliament
The agreement of the monarch gives royal assent to a bill, and is a formality (an action taken just to comply with convention or custom)
what convention is an example of how the House of Commons has primacy over the House of Lords in law making ?
The Salisbury Convention
The Salisbury Convention
The Salisbury Convention states that the House of Lords should not oppose the passing of legislation which was in the manifesto that that government was elected on
The Convention says that the House of Lords should not vote against the bill at the second reading stage and not introduce amendments which change the meaning of a bill from how the government intended in its manifesto
The Salisbury Convention is an example of how the House of Commons has primacy over the House of Lords in law making
The Strathclyde Review (2015)
The Strathclyde Review in 2015 reviewed the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords
The review recommended that the House of Lords should not be able to stop secondary legislation passing, but instead ask the House of Commons to rethink its proposal
The Strathclyde review called for a review into whether secondary legislation could only be passed through the House of Commons’ law making process
secondary legislation
The House of Lords has the power to reject secondary legislation (laws created by ministers that add details to existing Acts of Parliament)
However , there is a convention that the House of Lords should not reject secondary legislation
The House of Lords has rarely stopped secondary legislation in the past, but did when voting against cutting tax credits as part of the Tax Credits Regulations 2015 Act
why is the secondary legislation important ?
Secondary legislation amends existing laws to ensure they can operate practically and better in society
