1: Law Paper 2: The legislative process

Who is in the HoC?

Gov+MPs+Opp

Who is in the HoL?

Lords and baronesses who are influential in their field

Why is it important that both houses approve of a bill?

to avoid an arbitrary government that does not make decisions of its own will.

What is stage 1 of the legislative process?

The pre-legislative stage.

Private bills (affect small section of society)

Public bills(affect all of society)

Private members bill(back bench MPs suggest what laws go through Parliament)

Whitehall stage:

Green paper(gov’s opinions and suggested ideas, people invited to comment)

White paper(firm proposals from gov, no invite to comment)

What is stage 2 of the legislative process?

First reading:

Title of bill is read out, only a formality. Just to let MPs know in advance that a bill will pass through parliament

What is the 3rd stage of the legislative process?

The second reading:

Main debate will happen in one of the houses. The bills minister will explain the bills aims and then answer any questions. The bill is then voted on (aye/no or doors)

What is the 4th stage of the legislative process?

Comittee stage:

The bill is scrutinised by between 16-50 MPs mainly from the gov, and others may be parties interested in the bill. They closely go through each clause and make ammendments if needed

What is the 5th stage in the legislative process?

Report stage. Here the comittee will report back to the house with their proposed ammendments. Each change will be debated and voted on.

What is the 6th stage of the legislative process?

Third reading. Final reading of the bill. The bill is voted on by the house and no changes can be made apart from SPaG. The bill is unlikely to be defeated now.

What is stage 7 of the legislative process?

Repeat process. The bill passes through the same stages in the other house. If the other house alters anything the bill will be sent back to the original house for them to agree, disagree or propose alternatives. This can lead to a ping pong effect.

The HoLs power is limited so the bill can still become a law even if the lords reject it.

What is the 8th and final stage of the legislative process?

Royal assent. The monarch will only recieve a short title of the bill and once signed by the monarch it will become an Act of Parliament and a new law is created.

Last time a bill was refused by the monarch was the Scottish Militia Act in 1708 which was refused by Queen Anne