ACTS OF PARLIAMENT

14 May 2014
 LEGISLATION

Legislation may been described as the "linguistic dialogue

between Parliament and the Courts. Legislation is always talking
(to the judges). Legislation stems from limiting the Royal
Prerogative.
Legislation is an express and formal laying down of the rules of
conduct to be observed in the future, so legislation is normally
not retrospective. A retrospective law is generally considered
unfair, because the act being penalised was lawful when
committed.
 LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE
IN A NUTSHELL

Manifesto Passed to Lords

Green Paper 1st Reading
White Paper = Bill 2nd Reading
1st Reading Committee stage
2nd Reading Report Stage
Committee stage 3rd Reading....
Report Stage Royal Assent
3rd Reading....
 MANIFESTO

Political parties have a manifesto; promise(s) to the electorate.

The party may promise some legislation which they will enact if
and when they form the government.
Such promises may not become law. The party may discover that
the reforms are not realistic, or too expensive.
Also, other laws will have to be enacted during a government's
term of office because of unelected events, e.g. war, or an
unexpected ruling by the courts.
e.g. in 1996; the government was faced with a HOL ruling in R v
Preddy [1996] that an alleged fraud was not unlawful. This led to
the Theft (Amendment) Act 1996 being passed.
 QUEENS SPEECH

The Queen's Speech announces the main Bills in the

Government's legislative programme. The government actually
writes the speech. The Queen refers to My government; the
party forms the government on Her request.
Govt depts are responsible for starting legislation, e.g. the Home
Office is responsible for law and order and legislation affecting
the police. Civil servants prepare the draft ideas for the Minister
in charge. The government may choose to consult with interested
groups.
 GREEN PAPER

Command Papers are actually printed on white paper. They are

consultation papers, still taking shape, and seek comments from
the public. There is no mandatory requirement for a White or
Green Paper before a Bill is introduced into Parliament.
The importance of consultation was seen when Prime Minister
Tony Blair, tried to abolish the role of the Lord Chancellor,
without consultation. Over 500 statutes referred to functions of
the Lord Chancellor.
 WHITE PAPER

The Government may present to Parliament a White Paper

which is a statement of government policy and contains definite
proposals for legislation. This is often published at the same time
as the relevant bill. White Papers also called Command Papers -
are consultation documents on these firm proposals. The
consultation or discussion is with interested parties such as
professional bodies, voluntary organizations and pressure groups.
Private individuals may also respond to White Papers.
 DRAFTING

After consultation is completed highly skilled lawyers called

Parliamentary Counsel (Draftsmen) will draft a bill. The process
is called drafting; the Bill is then ready for scrutiny (careful
examination) by both houses. A Cabinet Committee, made up of
senior government ministers called the Legislation Committee,
controls the legislative programme for example deciding which
bills will be dropped if they run out of Parliamentary time.
 ACTS OF PARLIAMENT

will consist of the following main elements

the Short Title e.g. "House of Lords Act 1999";
the Long Title e.g. "An Act to restrict membership of the
House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage; to make related
provision about disqualifications for voting at elections to, and
for membership of, the House of Commons; and for connected
purposes." The long title describes the contents of the Act;
the sections which contain the main provisions of the Act;
the Schedules which contain further provisions of the Act,
often of a more technical nature than those in the sections.
 BILLS

For a Bill to become an Act of Parliament, it must be passed by

both Houses of Parliament and receive Royal Assent.
Bills contain the same elements, as an Act of Parliament although
sections of Bills are called clauses (somewhat perversely,
divisions of clauses are called subsections).
The start and finish of the process are formalities. The first
reading of a Public Bill is a formality; Royal Assent is a (usually)
formality.
Public Bills can be introduced into either the House of
Pariament. Private Bills are usually introduced in the House of
Lords.
 TYPES OF BILL

Public Bills
Most Bills are Public Bills that change the general law. The
majority of Public Bills that become Acts of Parliament are
introduced by a government minister and are known as
government Bills.
 TYPES OF BILL

Private Members' Bills

There are four (4) types of private Members bills. Few Private
Members' Bills become laws; many are not even debated in the
Commons.
(1) Ballot
(2) Ten Minute Rule Bill
(3) Presentation bills
(4) Private Members bills from the Lords
 SUCCESSFUL
PRIVATE MEMBERS BILLS

Some Bills tend to concern controversial subjects, upon which a

Member or group of Members feel strongly. If any Member
shouts "Object!" when the title of a bill is read, the second
reading is adjourned, even if all the other Members should be in
favour of the bill.
 PRIVATE MEMBERS BILLS
WHICH BECAME ACTS OF
PARLIAMENT

Leo Abse: Sexual Offences Bill 1967 - legalised gay sex.

Sidney Silverman: Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty)
Bill 1965 - Abolished Hanging:
David Steel: Abortion Bill 1967 - legalised abortion in some
circumstances.
Janet Anderson: Protection From Harassment Bill 1997
outlawed stalking
Michael Foster: Wild Mammals (Hunting with Dogs) Bill was
one of five Private Members Bills on the subject of hunting; it
was defeated in the House of Lords. Eventually the government
sponsored a Bill to honour its manifesto pledge to stop
foxhunting.
 PRIVATE MEMBERS BILLS
WHICH BECAME ACTS OF
PARLIAMENT

Stephen McCabe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology

(Deceased Fathers) Bill 2003 - the circumstances in which a
man is treated in law as the father of a child after fertility
treatment. This Act follows a High Court ruling that the Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 was incompatible with
the European Convention on Human Rights.
Diane Blood had brought the case. The Act amends the 1990 Act
to ensure that domestic law complies with both the European
Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act).
 PRIVATE BILLS

Private Bills are not Private Members Bills. Private Bills are
available to local authorities, universities or companies to enable
them to obtain greater powers for themselves. Private Bills do
not involve matters of public policy, e.g. Railway Acts.
Transport and Works Act 1992 provides an alternative method
of gaining the special powers and permissions needed.
These Bills are subject to a special form of parliamentary
procedure. There are only a few private bills in each session.
Unlike Public Bills, Private Bills may be carried over from one
session to the next.
 PERSONAL PRIVATE BILLS

Personal private bills are very rare nowadays, an interesting

example is the George Donald Evans and Deborah
Jane Evans (Marriage Enabling) Act 1987 which allowed a
marriage outside permitted degrees. Personal Bills always start
in the Lords.
[B and L v UK [2005] ECtHR on the same "permitted degrees"
issue led to a Remedial Order changing the Marriage Act to allow
such marriages.
 HYBRID BILLS

Hybrid bills are Public Bills that may affect the specific private
rights of people or bodies. They are generally introduced by the
Government, but are fairly rare. An example is the Bill that
became the Channel Tunnel Act 1987, which enabled the
construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to proceed. This
massive engineering undertaking required compulsory purchase
provisions to buy land and houses that were in the path of the
railway. As with Private Bills, the passage of such Bills through
Parliament is governed by special procedures, which allow those
affected to put their case.
 FIRST READING

The First Reading of a Bill is a formality, which involves a

member reading the title of the Bill; the First Reading takes place
without debate. The First Reading is essentially an announcement
that the bill has been introduced. Soon after the first reading
copies of the bill published are available for members to read,
they are also made available on the Parliament website.
 VOTING

There is a vote as to whether or not the Bill should continue

usually by members shouting Aye! or Nay!. If there is a clear
Aye!, then there is no formal vote and the Bill proceeds to its
next stage, the Second Reading, usually some weeks or months
later.
If the Commons takes a formal vote, the Members leave the
chamber and walk past one of two tellers, who physically count
each member who walks past.
 SECOND READING

The Second Reading provides the first real occasion for debate on
the general principles of a Bill; detailed discussion takes place
during the committee stage. In the Commons, the Opposition will
usually decide to vote against a Government Bill on its second
reading, or to move an amendment to the motion that the Bill is
read a second time - unless the Bill is non-controversial. On
second reading debates, a government minister (often the senior
minister) in the department responsible for the measure normally
proposes the Bill. He or she outlines the main principles of the
Bill and summarises the most important clauses. The official
Opposition spokesperson then responds and during the debate
the views of other Opposition parties and backbenchers is heard.
 SECOND READING

The debate normally concludes with a response from another

government minister and he or she deals with some of the major
points raised in the debate. If the House votes against the Bill at
second reading, the Bill can progress no further, but this virtually
never happens.
Traditionally, the Second Reading was always taken on the floor
of the House, but in recent years, some uncontroversial bills
(e.g. Law Commission measures) have been referred to a Second
Reading Committee; the House then accepts the Committee's
report and passes a Second Reading motion without a formal
debate.
 HOC COMMITTEE STAGE

Standing Committee General Committee (after 2006)

When a Bill has passed its second reading in the House of
Commons, it is usually referred to a General Committee
upstairs for detailed examination. The committee may consist
from 16 to 50 MPs, usually 18. The Committee examines the
clauses of the Bill line by line and detailed amendments are
considered. The Bills opponents, seeking to emasculate or
destroy it, propose some amendments but many are technical
improvements and clarifications proposed by the government
itself.
 HOC COMMITTEE STAGE

Committee of the whole House.

Occasionally a Bill may be referred to the whole House, sitting in
committee, e.g. Bills of great constitutional importance or a
Finance Bill. At the committee stage, MPs study the Bill in depth,
dealing with each clause in turn, line by line. Whilst individual
provisions may be altered, the main principle of the Bill is
preserved. MPs are often 'briefed' by interest groups who wish to
see amendments favouring their position.
 HOC COMMITTEE STAGE

Only rarely is the committee stage held on the floor of the

Commons. But this happened in 2010 when the new Coalition
government wished to pass a bill to allow schools to become
academies. This process was criticized as it is normally used only
for constitutional matters and matters of extreme urgency, for
example terrorism.
 HOL COMMITTEE STAGE

In the House of Lords, there are no second reading committees

or standing committees. Bills normally go through the committee
stage in a Committee of the whole House, although a few Bills
are committed to committees of various kinds off the floor of
the House.
 REPORT STAGE

Any amendments made during the committee stage must be

approved (or rejected) by the whole house during the report state.
The report stage is a detailed debate where further amendments
may be moved. This occurs on the Floor of the House (which
means the main chamber) further amendments are discussed and
made. In practice, it is very similar to the committee stage, but
only amendments and not the clauses of a Bill are discussed. All
members may speak and vote.
 THIRD READING

The third reading a Bill often follows on immediately after the

report stage. It is generally quite short unless it is of
constitutional importance - and the bill is reviewed in its final
form including amendments made at earlier stages. Substantive
amendments cannot be made at this stage to a Bill in the
Commons. Then the final version of the bill is approved and
passed by hand - bound in green ribbon - to the Lords, when the
Lords return the bill it is bound in red ribbon.
 THIRD READING

In the House of Lords, broadly the same procedure is followed.

One difference is the committee stage, which is normally a
committee of the whole House of Lords and amendments can be
made at Third Reading as well as at Committee and Report. If the
House of Lords amend the Bill, it must be sent back to the
Commons for Commons approval because both Houses must
agree on the wording of the Bill.
 PASSAGE THROUGH THE
LORDS

After passing its third reading a Bill is sent to the House of

Lords. The role of the House of Lords is to act as a check on
the Governments power. The passage through the second House
is not a formality, and Bills can be further amended. The
Commons have a certain amount of contempt for the Lords and
refer to it, not as the House of Lords, but another place.
Financial legislation is not scrutinized in detail by the Lords. The
Commons must agree to amendments made by the Lords, or a
compromise agreement reached, such that both Houses have
agreed the same text, before a Bill can receive Royal Assent.
 PASSAGE THROUGH THE
LORDS

The Lords do not generally prevent Bills from the Commons

becoming law, although they will often amend them and return
them for further consideration by the Commons.
The assent of the Lords is not essential, subject to certain
conditions, in the case of fiscal (money Bills). Bills dealing solely
with taxation or expenditure must become law within one month
of being sent to the Lords.
 A BILL CAN START IN
LORDS

A Bill can start in the Lords, but usually this procedure is

reserved for non-controversial matters.
Most Government Bills introduced and passed in the Lords pass
through the Commons without difficulty, but a Bill from the
Lords, which proves unacceptable to the Commons, will not
become law.
Government (political) Bills start in the Commons. Bills of a less
party-political nature may go to the Lords first. Bills with a mainly
financial purpose must be introduced in the Commons, because a
government minister in the Commons must introduce new
taxation or public spending.
 PROGRAMME AND
GUILLOTINE MOTIONS

These are devices for ensuring speedy and timely progress of a

Bill through the various stages.
 THE PARLIAMENT ACTS
1911 AND 1949

After many clashes between the Lords and the Commons, matters
came to a head in 1909 when the Lords rejected a Finance Bill.
This led to the Parliament Act 1911, which was only passed by
the Lords after a threat from the Commons that they would
create several hundred new peers to ensure its safe passage.
 THE PARLIAMENT ACTS
1911 AND 1949

By this Act, the Lords cannot reject a Bill, which the Speaker of
the House of Commons has certified as a Money Bill.
The Parliament Act 1949 further reduced the delaying power of
the Lords, so the position now is that the Lords can only delay a
Bill for about two years. In some circumstances, the Commons
can present a Bill for Royal Assent after one year, even if the
Lords object.
 THE PARLIAMENT ACTS
1911 AND 1949

The Parliament Acts have only been used on the following occasions:
Government of Ireland Act 1914
Welsh Church Act 1914
Parliament Act 1949
War Crimes Act 1991 (the first time the Conservatives used the Acts) to
prosecute war criminals who were not UK subjects at the time of the
offence.
European parliamentary Elections Act 1999 (having party list not
individual candidates for EU elections)
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 (reducing the age of consent
for gay sex to 16)
NB: other than the War Crimes Act, the above Acts have been amended or
repealed
 SALISBURY-ADDISON
CONVENTIONS

If a provision is in Governments manifesto, the Salisbury

Conventions holds that the Lords should not oppose legislation
to implement the provision. The reason is that the peers
recognize that they are unelected and are said to have no
democratic mandate.
 SALISBURY-ADDISON
CONVENTIONS

An example was the rejection by the Lords of the Government's

plans to repeal Section 2A of the Local Government Act
1986 (previously this was Section 28).
Section 28, which has now been repealed by Sec 122 Local
Government Act 2003, banned local authorities from promoting
the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of
homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.
 LENGTHY PROCEDURE

Passing an Act of Parliament is a lengthy procedure involving

considerable scrutiny and debate
 RAPID PROCEDURE

However, emergency legislation can be processed quickly

(e.g. Football (Disorder) Act 2000). A government with a secure
majority can ensure its legislation passes.
Legislation made in haste can result in problems. Thus terrorists
avoided having their photographs and DNA taken because of
faulty (hasty) drafting of legislation.
The most rapid passing of a Bill is probably the Northern
Ireland Act 1972, which took only seven hours and eleven
minutes to reverse the effects of a court decision that
undermined the powers of the armed forces in Northern Ireland.
 ROYAL ASSENT

A popular misconception is that Bills are or were signed by the

Sovereign. This has seldom happened, certainly not since the
16th Century. Between 1603 and 1849, the monarch signed no
Bills at all. Before 1603, the Sovereign only sometimes signed the
Acts. Royal Assent has, however been given in person.
Queen Victoria, faced by a greater avalanche of legislation than
any of her predecessors, was clearly unwilling to make frequent
visits to Parliament. She eventually ceased to attend to give Royal
Assents. Unless a Bill is urgent it is kept waiting until a number of
Bills are ready for Royal Assent. The last occasion the Sovereign
was physiclly present at the passing of an Act was 1854.
 ROYAL ASSENT

What are signed are either Letters Patent which allows the
Speaker of the Commons and the Lords (the Lord Chancellor) to
announce that the Queen has given her assent, or she signs a
Commission which commands the Royal Commissioners to
announce Royal Assent.
The titles of Bills to be approved are read in both Houses, and
then Royal Assent is achieved by quaint ceremony in the Lords.
The Clerk of the Parliaments turns towards the Commons and
pronounces, in Norman French the formula, "La Raine (or Le
Roy) le veult" (the Queen wishes it), pronounced "a wren le
vurlt".
 REFUSING ROYAL ASSENT

Royal Assent has not been refused since Queen Anne refused it
on 11 March 1708 for the Scottish Militia Bill, a Bill to raise an
army to sort out disorder in Scotland. This was the last occasion
on which it has proved necessary to use the ominous formula "La
Raine (or LeRoy) savisera." (The Queen will consider it).
 STATUTE BOOKS

After Royal Assent, a Bill becomes part of the law of the land. It
is then known as an Act of Parliament. Another misconception is
the existence of the statute book; it is true that there are statute
books of antiquity, but the expression simply means it becomes
the law; there is no physical statute book.
 COMMENCEMENT OF AN
ACT

A Bill becomes an Act of Parliament on the day specified.

However, the practice is to allow the minister to decide when a
Bill becomes an Act.
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 did not become effective
until 1986; this allowed police forces to train officers in its provisions.
The Human Rights Act 1988 did not take effect until 2000, again to allow
the training of those who were going to implement it and the appointment
of new judges in the High Court who were expected to deal with problems
by way of Declarations of Incompatibility.
The Easter Act 1928 has never been brought into effect, but it remains an
Act of Parliament.