Lecture 2- the legislative process in parliament
In this session
- Explain in brief the steps required to make an Act of Parliament
- Outline the need for delegated (secondary) legislation
- Consider some examples
BRIEF OVERVIEW
- Draft law (bill) agreed by the House of Commons
- Draft law (bill) agreed by the House of Lords
- Monarch gives ‘royal assent’
- Bill is ‘entered onto the roll’ and is an Act of Parliament
- PROCESS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
1. FIRST READING (the bill is introduced to Parliament) -this is usually done in House of
Commons but it CAN be introduced in House of Lords. It goes through same process in each
house.
2. SECOND READING (the bill is debated by MPs)
3. COMMITTEE STAGES (smaller group of MPs go through the bill in detail and may propose
amendments)
4. REPORT STAGES (committee reports back, further debate, and MPs can add more
amendmeents
5. THIRD READING (final debate and vote)
The House of Lords
- Repeats the process that was followed in the House of Commons
- If the House of Lords approves the bill sent from the House of Commons and makes no
amendments, the bill goes to the Monarch for Royal Assent
- If any amendments are made, then the bill is sent back to the House of Commons to approve
these changes
- This process can be repeated several times
- If a bill is not passed by the end of a Parliamentary session (10-12 months) it fails (and would
have to start all over again)
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
- These Acts create a process where, in some circumstances, the House of Commons can
bypass the House of Lords
- In theory this means that the elected House of Commons retains overall control
- In practice they are rarely used (see the Hunting Act 2004)
- There is a convention that the House of Lords will not vote against a bill that government has
drafted that is intended to fulfil a manifesto promise
Delegated (secondary) legislation
- The process for making an Act of Parliament can be lengthy (up to 12 months)
- An Act of Parliament often includes sections that delegate power to ministers or other
executive bodies to make additional legislation that can be made more quickly and
changed/updated more easily
In this session
- Explain in brief the steps required to make an Act of Parliament
- Outline the need for delegated (secondary) legislation
- Consider some examples
BRIEF OVERVIEW
- Draft law (bill) agreed by the House of Commons
- Draft law (bill) agreed by the House of Lords
- Monarch gives ‘royal assent’
- Bill is ‘entered onto the roll’ and is an Act of Parliament
- PROCESS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
1. FIRST READING (the bill is introduced to Parliament) -this is usually done in House of
Commons but it CAN be introduced in House of Lords. It goes through same process in each
house.
2. SECOND READING (the bill is debated by MPs)
3. COMMITTEE STAGES (smaller group of MPs go through the bill in detail and may propose
amendments)
4. REPORT STAGES (committee reports back, further debate, and MPs can add more
amendmeents
5. THIRD READING (final debate and vote)
The House of Lords
- Repeats the process that was followed in the House of Commons
- If the House of Lords approves the bill sent from the House of Commons and makes no
amendments, the bill goes to the Monarch for Royal Assent
- If any amendments are made, then the bill is sent back to the House of Commons to approve
these changes
- This process can be repeated several times
- If a bill is not passed by the end of a Parliamentary session (10-12 months) it fails (and would
have to start all over again)
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
- These Acts create a process where, in some circumstances, the House of Commons can
bypass the House of Lords
- In theory this means that the elected House of Commons retains overall control
- In practice they are rarely used (see the Hunting Act 2004)
- There is a convention that the House of Lords will not vote against a bill that government has
drafted that is intended to fulfil a manifesto promise
Delegated (secondary) legislation
- The process for making an Act of Parliament can be lengthy (up to 12 months)
- An Act of Parliament often includes sections that delegate power to ministers or other
executive bodies to make additional legislation that can be made more quickly and
changed/updated more easily
