Questions Text 10 Text 10. Passage of a Public Bill. Questions

1. The pre-legislative stage. Who drafts a bill?

The preparation of legislation is often a lengthy process:

- Content and policy of the Bill must be approved by the appropriate Cabinet committee and then by then by the full Cabinet.

- Reform may sometimes be preceded by Green or White Papers allowing pre-legislative consultation in Parliament. Consultation will also take place with various interest groups.

- By the end of this pre-legislative stage the main content of the Bill is effectively settled although further negotiations between the various interested parties continue throughout the passage through Parliament.

Responsibility for drafting the Bill is with Parliamentary Draftsmen, known as Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury.

2. Which stages does a bill pass?

1) First Reading, A purely formal stage – the title of the Bill is read out, an order is made for the Bill to be published and a date fixed for the second reading

2) Second Reading – the principles of the Bill are discussed on the floor of the House. The Bill is voted on.

3) Committee Stage – a detailed clause by clause analysis of the Bill by a standing committee of between 16-50 MPs. Detailed amendments are considered.

4) Report Stage – the Bill is reported back to the whole House with amendments. Further amendments, usually government sponsored, can be made at this stage.

5) Third Reading – once again the whole House examines the principles behind the legislation. Only verbal amendments can be made and any debate must be supported by at least 6 members.

3. How is the bill considered in the Lords?

Once a Bill has passed its Commons stage it goes up to the HoL where the same process is repeated, except that the Committee stage is taken on the floor of the House.

1. The HoL can pass bills

2. If the Bill is amended in the HoL, these amendments must be considered by the HoC.

3. If the amendments are rejected by the HoC, the Lords must decide whether to insist on these. If no agreement is reached before the end of the Session, the Bill will fail.

4. When does a bill become a law?

Bill becomes a law since it receives the Royal Assent

5. Variations on the procedure

1) Bills may start life in either House. Generally less controversial Bills, e.g. technical legal Bills are selected to start life in Lords, high profile political Bills in the HoC. As the HoC has sole responsibility for financial matters, it has carry the burden of the work on financial Bills.

2) Some bills have their Second Reading Stage in Committee. This procedure was introduced in an attempt to save time on the floor of the House and is used for unopposed and non-controversial legislation.

3) Some Bills have their committee stage on the floor of the HoC. This procedure used for:

A – non controversial Bills where the committee stage would be purely formal

B – Bills passed in an emergency

C – major clauses of Financial Bills

In these cases Committee and Report Stages will be combined!