Acts of Parliament / Statutes
The pre-legislative process begins with the Green Paper which is a consultative document
on a topic in which the government’s view is put forward with proposals for law reform.
Interested parties are invited to comment on it so considerations can be made. The
government will publish a White Paper with firm proposals for new law. Consultation before
any new law is to allow mature consideration and to prevent responding in a ‘knee-jerk’
fashion like in the Dangerous Dog Act 1991.
Majority of the Acts of Parliament are introduced by the government which are drafted by
lawyers in the civil service. When the proposed Act has been drafted and is published, this
stage is called a Bill. It completes all the necessary stages in Parliament to become an Act of
Parliament. Draftsmen face problems in trying to frame the Bill as it must represent the
government’s wishes while using correct legal wording so that the court will not face
difficulties applying it. Private member Bills are introduced by individual members of
parliament (MPs) or backbenchers. An example is the Abortion Act 1967.
A public Bill involves matters of public policy which affects the whole country. Private Bills
are designed to pass a law which will affect only individual people or corporations.
Bills may start in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords except finance Bills
which must start in the Commons. The First Reading is the first stage where the name and
main aims of the Bills are read out. The Second Reading is when MPs can debate the main
principles behind the Bill. MPs who wish to speak in the debate must catch the Speaker’s
eye, no one may speak unless they are called upon. At the end of this is a vote, when the
Speaker asks the members as a whole how they vote and the members shout ‘Aye’ or ‘No’.
There will be a more formal vote, if it is not clear which decision is louder, members will walk
back in through one of two separate chambers.
The next stage is the Committee Stage which is a detailed examination of each clause of
the Bill. This is usually done by a Standing Committee specifically chosen for that Bill. The
MPs nominated for each Standing Committee will usually be those with a special interest in,
or knowledge of, the subject of the Bill being considered. Although the government will have
a majority, opposition parties are represented proportionally to the number of seats they
have in the House. For Finance Bills the whole House will sit in committee.
Following this would be the report stage. After the amendments to various clauses in the
Bill are voted on and passed in the Committee Stage, the committee reports back to the
House on those amendments, which are debated in the House and accepted or rejected.
Further amendments can also be added. The Third Reading is the final vote on the Bill.
The Bill then repeats its five stages through the House of Lords if it started in the House of
Commons. If the House of Lords make any amendments to the Bill, it will be sent back to the
House of Commons for consideration. Any disagreement to a change in the Bill will be sent
back to the House of Lords for reconsideration. If the House of Lords insist on the
amendment, it will be sent back to the Commons. This is known as ‘ping-pong’. However,
the Parliaments Acts 1911 and 1949 limit the power of the House of Lords to reject a Bill
unless the Bill is reintroduced in Parliament and passes all the stages again. The House of
The pre-legislative process begins with the Green Paper which is a consultative document
on a topic in which the government’s view is put forward with proposals for law reform.
Interested parties are invited to comment on it so considerations can be made. The
government will publish a White Paper with firm proposals for new law. Consultation before
any new law is to allow mature consideration and to prevent responding in a ‘knee-jerk’
fashion like in the Dangerous Dog Act 1991.
Majority of the Acts of Parliament are introduced by the government which are drafted by
lawyers in the civil service. When the proposed Act has been drafted and is published, this
stage is called a Bill. It completes all the necessary stages in Parliament to become an Act of
Parliament. Draftsmen face problems in trying to frame the Bill as it must represent the
government’s wishes while using correct legal wording so that the court will not face
difficulties applying it. Private member Bills are introduced by individual members of
parliament (MPs) or backbenchers. An example is the Abortion Act 1967.
A public Bill involves matters of public policy which affects the whole country. Private Bills
are designed to pass a law which will affect only individual people or corporations.
Bills may start in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords except finance Bills
which must start in the Commons. The First Reading is the first stage where the name and
main aims of the Bills are read out. The Second Reading is when MPs can debate the main
principles behind the Bill. MPs who wish to speak in the debate must catch the Speaker’s
eye, no one may speak unless they are called upon. At the end of this is a vote, when the
Speaker asks the members as a whole how they vote and the members shout ‘Aye’ or ‘No’.
There will be a more formal vote, if it is not clear which decision is louder, members will walk
back in through one of two separate chambers.
The next stage is the Committee Stage which is a detailed examination of each clause of
the Bill. This is usually done by a Standing Committee specifically chosen for that Bill. The
MPs nominated for each Standing Committee will usually be those with a special interest in,
or knowledge of, the subject of the Bill being considered. Although the government will have
a majority, opposition parties are represented proportionally to the number of seats they
have in the House. For Finance Bills the whole House will sit in committee.
Following this would be the report stage. After the amendments to various clauses in the
Bill are voted on and passed in the Committee Stage, the committee reports back to the
House on those amendments, which are debated in the House and accepted or rejected.
Further amendments can also be added. The Third Reading is the final vote on the Bill.
The Bill then repeats its five stages through the House of Lords if it started in the House of
Commons. If the House of Lords make any amendments to the Bill, it will be sent back to the
House of Commons for consideration. Any disagreement to a change in the Bill will be sent
back to the House of Lords for reconsideration. If the House of Lords insist on the
amendment, it will be sent back to the Commons. This is known as ‘ping-pong’. However,
the Parliaments Acts 1911 and 1949 limit the power of the House of Lords to reject a Bill
unless the Bill is reintroduced in Parliament and passes all the stages again. The House of
