2. What is the process of law making in the UK?

House of Commons

House of Commons

The lower house of Parliament consisting of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to represent constituencies.

Members of Parliament (MPs)

Elected representatives in the House of Commons.

Elections

Procedures held every five years where MPs are selected to represent constituencies.

Government

The political party with the majority in Parliament responsible for formulating new Acts of Parliament.

Parliament

The supreme legislative body in the UK, comprised of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

House of Lords- definition

The upper house of Parliament which is not elected and includes life peers and bishops.

Hereditary peers

Members of the House of Lords who inherit their titles.

Life peers

Members of the House of Lords appointed for life and do not pass their titles to their descendants.

Green Paper

A consultative document issued by the government proposing reforms to the law.

White Paper

A definitive document issued by the government outlining their proposals for new law.

Consultation

A process where stakeholders are invited to give feedback on proposals before new laws are implemented.

Acts of Parliament

Laws passed by Parliament.

Prime Minister

The head of the elected government in the UK, leading the executive branch.

Majority party

The political party that holds more than half the seats in the House of Commons.

Timetable

A schedule indicating when and where parliamentary business should take place.

Full consideration

A thorough review of all aspects of a proposal before decision-making.

Who can introduce a Bill?

Government minister and Private Members Bills.

Government minister

Introduced by a Government minister- will only introduce Bills relevant to their department. Unambiguous, precise and comprehensive.

Private Members Bills

Introduced by individual (private) MPs- not government ministers. Can be from any political party. Known as ‘backbenchers’. Only a few have become law- 1967 Abortion Act.

How do Bills get into Parliament?

Ballot or 10 minute rule.

Ballot

Parliamentary session allows for 20 private members to be selected to present a Bill to Parliament. Time for debate is limited, only being debated on Fridays, only first 6 or 7 have a chance of introducing a Bill.

Ten minute rule

Any MP can make a speech of up to 10 minutes introducing new legislation. Rarely successful unless there is no opposition to the Bill.

Example: Bail Act 1993- gave prosecution right to appeal against the granting of bail to a defendant.

Public Bills

Involve matters which will affect the whole/most of the country. Most government bills are in this category- Legal Services Act.

Private Bills

Only affect individual people or corporations. Example: Faversham Oyster Fisheries Bill 2016.

Hybrid Bills

Cross between Public Bills and Private Bills. Introduced by government but affects an organisation, person or place.

Crossrail Bills- construction of underground- will affect people in the area.

House of Commons

Democratically elected.

Most bills introduced here first.

Vote against= end of the bill.

Debates occur on issues of policy behind the law.

Government has the majority in the HoC- Bills they support likely to become law.

Role of the House of Lords

Act as a checker to the HoC.

Can vote against proposed changes.

Sometimes tells the House of Commons a problem with the proposal and it will be dropped or amended.

Can delay a law by up to a year- Hunting Acts 2004.

Power of the House of Lords

Power of House of Lords is limited due to Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949. These allow a Bill to become law even if the House of Lords rejects it, provided that Bill is reintroduced into the House of Commons in the next session of Parliament and passes all the stages again there. So, the House of Lords can delay a law by up to 1 year.

House of Lords- Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.

Why?

The House of Lords is a non elected body. They are there to refine and add to the law NOT oppose democratically elected House of Commons.

2 examples of where by-pass House of a lords:

War Crimes Act 1991- try people for Nazi Germany crimes.

Hunting Act 2004- ban hunting with dogs.

First Reading

Formal procedure- name of the Bill is read out. No discussion or vote.

Second reading

Main debate.

Speaker controls all debates.

Vote is taken at the end- verbal vote- ‘Aye’ or ‘No’.

If agreement is clear, no need for formal vote.

If not possible to say = formal vote- members of the House vote by leaving the Chamber and walking back in through one of two doors.

‘Tellers’

Need majority for Bill to progress any further.

Committee stage

Detailed examination of each clause of the bill.

16 to 50 MPs

Standing Committee- chosen specifically for the bill- government have the majority, opposition and minority parties represented proportionally to the number of seats they have in HoC.

Those nominated usually those with a special interest in or knowledge of the subject of the bill.

Finance Bills- whole house will sit in.

Report stage

Any amendments voted on and passed at committee stage are reported back to the House (no amendments- no Report Stage).

Amendments are debated in the House- other amendments may also be added.

Safeguards against a small committee amending a Bill.

Third Reading

Final vote on the Bill.

More of a formality- unlikely to fail.

Only debate Bill again if 6 MPs request it.

House of Lords

If started in HoC, passed to HoL and goes through all the same 5 stages.

If the HoL makes changes, it will go back to the HoC for them to consider amendments.

If HoC do not accept the new amendments, they send this back to the HoL.

This can go on for some time- ping pong.

Royal Assent

Final stage- Monarch formally approves the Bill.

Becomes an Act of Parliament.

Formality- Monarch will only get the short title- not even have the text of the Bill.

Last rejected by a Monarch- Scottish Militia Bill- rejected by Queen Anne- 1708.

What happens after?

Comes into force on midnight that day, unless another date set.

Act usually says the date it will commence or states who will make the commencement date.

Problem with this?

Someone has to check that they have come into effect.

Some sections never become law- Easter Act 1928.

What does ‘Be it enacted’ mean?

Shows that it has been passed by both houses and had the Royal Assent.

What are the advantages of the UKs law making process?

Made by elected representatives- democratic, elected every 5 years.

Can reform whole areas of law in one Act.

Gives power to others to make detailed regulations.

Consultation of the Bill before it is given to Parliament- allows for consideration of possible objections.

Lengthy- throughly discussed.

Cannot be challenged.

What are the disadvantages to the law making process?

Time- not enough time for all reforms that are proposed.

Process of becoming an Act can take months.

Government in control of parliamentary timetable- does not allow much time for private members bills.

Private Members Bills can be easily voted out by the government as they have the majority in the House of Commons- very few private members bills become law.

Acts can be difficult to understand- long and complex.

What are the key influences on Parliament in the law making procedure?

There are several influences that lead to Parliament deciding new laws to bring in or what laws need changing.

• Political influences

• Public opinion/media

• Pressure groups

• Law reform bodies (Law Commission)

Political Influences

Parties manifesto- persuades people to vote for them.

Party with most MPs becomes government.

Party brings in reforms that made up their manifesto.

Government has majority say on what new laws be put before the House of Commons and HoL during any session of Parliament.