House of Commons (United Kingdom)/Addendum: Difference between revisions
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==The legislative process== | |||
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Almost all Bills are Public, that is, they affect the whole country. But a few are | |||
Private and only affect a local area or institution such as a company. These must be | |||
distinguished from Private Members’ Bills which are Public Bills proposed by | |||
backbench MPs. Public Bills originate from a number of different sources. The | |||
majority are proposed by government departments in Whitehall. Surprisingly, | |||
relatively few of these have been set out in a manifesto. Most are devised by | |||
ministers and civil servants without having been put to the electorate for specific | |||
approval. Some proposed legislation originates from the findings of special commissions | |||
or official inquiries, or from reports of the Law Commission, which is a | |||
permanent body set up to review areas of the law which might need change. The | |||
Government decides whether or not to agree to these proposals and put them | |||
before Parliament. | |||
5:5 Once a department has decided that it wishes to ask Parliament to pass legislation | |||
on a certain topic, it will undergo a consultation process with interested parties. | |||
The extent of this process will differ depending on the complexity, importance and | |||
urgency of the matter. It may take many months or a few days. The first stage is | |||
often a consultation document called a Green Paper which sets out in general terms | |||
what the Government is seeking to do and asks for views. Once these are received | |||
and taken account of (or not) the Government will produce a White Paper, which | |||
sets out the proposals decided upon and the reasons for the legislation. These two | |||
stages may be contracted into one. | |||
5:6 These stages are not fixed by formal rules and are subject to change. For example, it | |||
is increasingly common for draft Bills to be drawn up and circulated for consultation | |||
before being formally laid before Parliament, an example being the | |||
Mental Health Bill 2002. Occasionally Bills are scrutinised by Parliamentary | |||
Committees before being formally introduced. | |||
50 | The legislative process | |||
Drafting | |||
5:7 At the point where a department has decided on the provisions it wishes to pass | |||
these are passed to civil servants called Parliamentary Counsel, lawyers who are | |||
experts in drafting techniques. A long or complex Bill may take many months to | |||
draft, with regular meetings between Parliamentary Counsel and the department | |||
responsible for the Bill to ensure that the wording accurately reflects what is | |||
proposed. Once the Bill is drafted it is ready to be presented to Parliament. | |||
5:8 One effect of the need for Bills to be tightly drafted legal documents is that they are | |||
often difficult for non-lawyers to understand. In order to address this problem and | |||
so to increase the accessibility of legislation, a ‘plain English’ summary of the | |||
purpose and content of the Bill is now published alongside the more formal and | |||
legally drafted overview. The Coroners Bill 2006 that proposed changes to the | |||
coroners’ system was the first Bill to include the new plain English section. | |||
The Westminster stage | |||
5:9 In order to be given time in Parliament, a Bill must have been approved by the | |||
Future Business committee. This is a cabinet committee which decides which Bills | |||
will be put before Parliament in the following session. Thus, a department wishing to | |||
pass legislation must normally seek space in the timetable from the committee the | |||
year before it will be ready to be passed. In this way, there is a rolling programme of | |||
proposals and Bills at different stages of preparation. At any one time Parliament | |||
will know what is due to come before it for the current and future session. | |||
5:10 All Bills must be passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. | |||
They can start in either, but most start in the Commons and pass through the | |||
following stages: | |||
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First reading<br> | |||
The Bill is laid before the House and is ordered to be printed. There is no debate. | |||
Second reading<br> | |||
The responsible minister states the purpose of the Bill and there is a debate on its desirability. | |||
Committee stage<br> | |||
A committee of 16 Members examines each clause of the Bill and amends it where apprpriate. | |||
the workability of the detailed clauses. (The parties are repreented in the committee in the same prportin as in the House) | |||
Report stage<br> | |||
The Bill is debated by the House and further amendments are agreed. | |||
Third reading<br> | |||
The Bill is formally confirmed without change of content. | |||
==Votes of confidence== | ==Votes of confidence== | ||
Votes of confidence have in the past taken one of three forms<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-02873.pdf Richard Kelly and Thomas Powell: ''Confidence Motions'', House of Commons Library Standard Note, September 2010]</ref> | Votes of confidence have in the past taken one of three forms<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-02873.pdf Richard Kelly and Thomas Powell: ''Confidence Motions'', House of Commons Library Standard Note, September 2010]</ref> | ||
Revision as of 02:52, 23 February 2012
The legislative process
First reading
The Bill is laid before the House and is ordered to be printed. There is no debate.
Second reading
The responsible minister states the purpose of the Bill and there is a debate on its desirability.
Committee stage
A committee of 16 Members examines each clause of the Bill and amends it where apprpriate.
the workability of the detailed clauses. (The parties are repreented in the committee in the same prportin as in the House)
Report stage
The Bill is debated by the House and further amendments are agreed.
Third reading
The Bill is formally confirmed without change of content.
Votes of confidence
Votes of confidence have in the past taken one of three forms[1]
- a "confidence" motion", initiated by the Government;
- a "no confidence motion" initiated by the Opposition; and,
- a motion of sufficient importance to be deemed a vote of confidence.
However, the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011 stipulates that the passage of a no confidence motion is one of the alternative conditions necessary for the calling of a general election (another being a motion for the dissolution of parliament). It also stipulates that a general election must be called unless, within 14 days of the passage of such a motion, the successor government wins a confidence motion[2]. It is not clear whether a defeat on a motion in the third of the above categories would still count as a vote of no confidence (for example, it is not clear whether a defeat on the Government’s budget would be considered as a vote of no confidence). It would be possible, however, for a Government to make it clear, before such a division on such motion, that they considered it to be a matter of confidence - a procedure that past governments have used to make their supporters aware of the importance of particular motions. The loss of a vote of confidence need not result in the resignation of a Prime Minister if he or she is able to gain the confidence of Parliament in a new government under his or her leadership, for example by dissolving a coalition or assembling a new coalition.