The Structure And Role Of Parliament: Parliamentary Debate And The Legislative Process

Question 1

In the two session of the 2015-2017 parliament, how many government bills were debated and how many passed?

Answer 1

55 debated of which 48 passed

Question 2

In the two sessions of the 2015-2017 parliament how many private members bills were introduced and how many passed?

Answer 2

324 private members bills were introduced and 14 passed

Question 3

What is the first step of the basic process of a bill becoming a law in parliament?

Answer 3

All proposed laws must pass through both the Lords and the Commons

Question 4

What is the second step of the basic process of a bill becoming a law in parliament?

Answer 4

All bills go through certain set stages in order to be passed, the length and opportunities for debate and scrutinising vary depending on the stage

Question 5

What is the third step of the basic process of a bill becoming a law in parliament?

Answer 5

Every public bill is debated and can be amended

Question 6

What is the fourth step of the basic process of a bill becoming a law in parliament?

Answer 6

Most government-backed bills become laws, by contrast, most bills proposed by backbench MPs or peers do not

Question 7

What is the fifth step of the basic process of a bill becoming a law in parliament?

Answer 7

Every bill must receive the royal assent to become law, but today this is only a formality

Question 8

What is the average amount of public bills passed each year?

Answer 8

30-40

Question 9

What is a Green Paper?

Answer 9

A discussion document that the government produces on setting out the issues and options for legislation, a discussion document, its the first thing done when the government introduces new legilsation

Question 10

What is a White Paper?

Answer 10

After a Green Paper has been produced, it sets out the detailed plans and proposals for legislation for the government

Question 11

When is the governments legislative programme set out?

Answer 11

In the Queen’s (or now King’s) Speech

Question 12

How many stages for all bills, expect money bills, go through?

Answer 12

6

Question 13

What is the first stage that legislative bills go through in parliament?

Answer 13

First reading, the formal introduction or reading of the bill title by the relevant government minister, there Is no vote or debate at this stage

Question 14

What is the second stage that legislative bills go through in parliament?

Answer 14

Second reading, this is where the main debate on the principles of the bill takes places takes place, government defeats on the second reading are very rare

Question 15

When was the last time a government was defeat at the second reading stage?

Answer 15

In 1986, when a Sunday Trading Bill was defeated 296-282, one of Thatcher’s four defeats

Question 16

What is the third stage that legislative bills go through in parliament?

Answer 16

Committee Stage, where bills are then sent on to public bills committee, where the members consider the bill line by line, often suggesting amendments and sometimes calling expert witness to help inform debate, as the government always has a majority on the committee, major changes to bills are unlikely at this stage

Question 17

What is the fourth stage that legislative bills go through in parliament?

Answer 17

Report stage, during this stage any amendments agreed in the committee stage are considered by the Commons, accepted, rejected or changed, this the also the opportunity for further amendments to be put to vote

Question 18

What is the fifth stage that legislative bills go through in parliament?

Answer 18

Third Reading, this is a final debate on the amended version of the bill, no further changes are permitted at this stage

Question 19

What is the sixth stage that legislative bills go through in parliament?

Answer 19

The House of Lords Stage Assuming the bill has got through all its Commons stages, the process is then repeated in the Lords, a bill may go back and forth between the houses, a process dubbed ‘parliamentary ping-pong’

Question 20

What is secondary legislation or statutory instruments (SIs)?

Answer 20

This refers to provisions within primary legislation for the relevant minister to introduce new classes or changes, this is mainly for the sake of efficiency and is minister-made law, not parliament-passed law

Question 21

What is the average amount of SIs passed annually?

Answer 21

3,500

Question 22

What act is an example of secondary legislation?

Answer 22

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which allows the government to more easily add new drugs to the list of banned substance

Question 23

Who scrutinises SIs?

Answer 23

The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, which is a joint committee of both MPs and peers

Question 24

What is bills drafted and printed by individual MPs which is not created by the government?

Answer 24

Private Members’ Bills (PMBs)

Question 25

What are some examples of key laws starting out as PMBs?

Answer 25

The Abortion Act 1967, the abolition of capital punishment in 1965

Question 26

What are the three forms of PMBs?

Answer 26

Ballot bills, ten minute rule bills and presentation bills

Question 27

How many Fridays, and approximately how many hours, are set aside in the House of Commons each year for PMBs?

Answer 27

13 Friday sitting, approximately 65 hours

Question 28

How are backbench MPs get there PMBs selected into the legislation process?

Answer 28

Backbench MPs can enter a ballot every year with 20 names drawn out

Question 29

How do ballot bills only stand a chance of getting passed?

Answer 29

If they are controversial and the government doesn’t oppose them

Question 30

How can MPs easily block ballot bills?

Answer 30

Speaking on them until there time runs out

Question 31

What is an example of a PMB having an MP speak until time runs out?

Answer 31

The so-called ‘Turning Bill’ in 2016, which would have pardoned all men living with UK convictions for same-sex offences committed before the law was changed in 1967, with a government minister speaking on the bill for 25 minutes, reaching the time limit allotted for the debate, meaning the bill failed to progress

Question 32

What is an example of a PMB being blocked by a single objection?

Answer 32

In 2018 Christopher Chope was sufficient to block a bill that would gave outlawed ‘upskirting’, his move was heavily criticised and a government-backed bill on the same topic was passed in 2019

Question 33

How many ballot bills were passed in the 2017-2019 parliamentary session?

Answer 33

4

Question 34

What is ten minute rule bills?

Answer 34

these are policy aspiration put into legislative language in order to secure a 10-minute speaking slot during ‘primetime’ in the House of Commons chambers after Question Time on Tuesday and Wednesday

Question 35

Who decides the slots for ten minute rule bills?

Answer 35

The party whips, which somewhat undermines the independence of individual MPs

Question 36

What is a rare example of the ten minute rule bill working?

Answer 36

The Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017, which created a new legal status f guardian of the affairs of a missing person, it was originally introduced as a ten minute rule bull by Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake and subsequently passed into law

Question 37

What is a presentation bill?

Answer 37

Any MP is permitted to introduce a bill of their choice, having view prior notice to the Public Bill Office, these bills are formally ‘presented’ during a Friday sitting only, and only after the ballot bills on the order paper has been presented

Question 38

What is a order paper?

Answer 38

A list indicating the order in which business is to be conducted during that day’s sitting go the House of Commons

Question 39

How are presentations bills presented?

Answer 39

The MP does not give a speech and there is no debate, making these bills used to address discrete, non-controversial, policy issues and to resolve anomalies in the law, though no speech makes these less useful to MPs than ballot or ten minute rule bills

Question 40

What two examples of the backbenchers putting pressure on the government?

Answer 40

In 2011, with major cross bench opposition, the government called off plans to privatise some English forest and in 2006 Labour’s backbench successfully persuaded Tony Blair’s government to bring in the Corporate Manslaughter Bill