Secretariats website
Last updated: 01 February 2010
3.1 This chapter provides a summary of the key actions and issues to be considered at each stage in the preparation and passage of primary legislation through Parliament. These will have been preceded by the usual stages in policy development – a Green Paper discussion or consultation document (proposals rather than a commitment to action), a White Paper (major policy proposals set out in more detail) and one or more rounds of public consultation.
3.2 This chapter is intended to give an at-a-glance overview of all stages, but it is not definitive. Officials involved in work on a Bill should read individual chapters for guidance on procedure at each stage (and consult Parliamentary Counsel for guidance on Parliamentary procedure); definitive guidance is given by the House authorities. It also only deals with Government programme Bills – for information on Private Members' Bills, Hybrid Bills, Consolidation Bills and Tax Law Rewrite Bills, please consult the specific chapter.
Before Introduction
3.3 Securing a slot in the legislative programme: Departments must bid for a slot in the legislative programme for any Bills they wish to introduce. Normally this will be through the annual bidding round when the Leader of the House of Commons, as Chair of Legislation Committee, invites Cabinet colleagues to submit bids for Bills for the following session of Parliament. Bids must be by letter to the Chair of Legislation Committee and accompanied by a bid template. Legislation Committee will assess bids on their political priority and state of readiness and then advise Cabinet on the contents of the programme. The programme will be reviewed in preparation for publication of the Draft Legislative Programme, and again in the run up to the Queen's Speech, in the light of any emerging bids and progress in preparing those Bills already in the programme. Late bids must have a very strong case, as other Bills are likely to have to be dropped to accommodate them.
3.4 Public commitment to legislate: Ministers should not make a public commitment to legislate in the forthcoming session of Parliament unless or until this has been agreed by Legislation Committee. The Government's announcement of its intention to legislate on a particular issue will normally be made as part of the Draft Legislative Programme or the Queen's Speech. Prior to this, Ministers should use the standard wording that they intend to legislate “when parliamentary time allows” (and then only if the policy content has already been collectively agreed).
3.5 Setting up the Bill team: A well resourced Bill team is critical to any Bill. A dedicated Bill manager and Bill team should be appointed as soon as the department secures a slot in the forthcoming legislative programme, and appropriately trained. The Bill manager will need to produce and monitor progress against a delivery plan, coordinate all work on the Bill, and provide regular updates to Ministers, officials involved in work on the Bill, Departmental Lawyers and Legislation Secretariat. A senior project board should be established to monitor progress on the Bill.
3.6 Collective agreement of policy: The relevant policy Committee of Cabinet must agree the policy content of the Bill before drafting instructions can be sent to Parliamentary Counsel, and must also agree any amendments to the Bill that represent a significant change in policy. Collective agreement from Legislation Committee is required at the following stages: when bidding for a slot in the programme, when publishing a bill in draft, just before introduction to approve the final text of the Bill, and for any amendments to the Bill after introduction.
3.7 Drafting instructions to Parliamentary Counsel: Parliamentary Counsel draft Bills on the basis of instructions from departments. Drafting work can begin when the Bill has been allocated a slot in the programme and its policy content has received collective agreement (in some cases, time constraints may make it imperative to start drafting on a contingent basis pending collective agreement). The Bill team and Departmental Lawyers should meet Parliamentary Counsel at an early stage to discuss a timetable for sending instructions to them, and this should also be agreed with Legislation Secretariat. Parliamentary Counsel will produce draft clauses on the basis of these instructions, which the department will consider and comment on. Re-drafting will continue until a final version of the Bill is agreed.
3.8 Explanatory Notes: Explanatory Notes must be published alongside every Government Bill and are drafted by the Bill team in consultation with departmental lawyers and Parliamentary Counsel. They must be ready by the time the Bill comes to Legislation Committee for approval for introduction, and should be published at the same time as the Bill. They must be approved for publication by the Clerk of Legislation in the House of Commons, or by the Clerk of Public Bills in the House of Lords, and so a final draft needs to be ready at least two days before the text of a Bill is handed in by Counsel if Explanatory Notes are to be published at the same time as the Bill to which they relate. Explanatory Notes must be amended when the Bill enters the second House to reflect changes made in the first House, and (if there have been any second House amendments) new Explanatory Notes will be needed for those amendments when the Bill returns to the first House for consideration.
3.9 European Convention on Human Rights: Departmental legal advisors will need to prepare a Memorandum for Legislation Committee before the Bill is introduced, setting out the Bill's compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Minister in charge of the Bill in each House must also sign a statement as to the Bill's compatibility with the ECHR. This appears on the front page of a Bill as introduced, and as reprinted fo the second House.
3.10 Other legal issues: The department must also consider other legal issues, such as the Bill's compatibility with EC law, and obtain Law Officers' consent to any retrospective provisions or early commencement of provisions.
3.11 Impact Assessment: An Impact Assessment must be produced for any proposal for legislation which has an impact on business, the third sector or the environment (and the public sector above a defined threshold). The final Impact Assessment must be circulated to Legislation Committee alongside the Bill and other papers when it is considered for approval for introduction, and published alongside the Bill.
3.12 Impact on devolved administrations: Departments must identify the implications of their legislation for the devolved administrations, ensure that the devolved administrations share their understanding of this and where appropriate seek their consent. Legislation Committee will need to be satisfied that agreement has been reached on the devolution implications before it gives its approval for a Bill to be introduced into Parliament. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each has its own devolution settlement, so departments will need to give careful thought at an early stage to the implications of their proposed legislation under each settlement. Officials in the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices should be the first point of contact for departments seeking to clarify whether proposed legislation is an excepted or reserved matter or impinges on devolved matters.
3.13 Delegated Powers: Departments must consider what degree of Parliamentary scrutiny will be appropriate for any delegated powers in the Bill, and produce a Delegated Powers Memorandum for Legislation Committee justifying the inclusion of any delegated powers and addressing any concerns that might be raised. The Memorandum must be published on introduction in the first House (whichever one that is) and formally submitted to the Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee.
3.14 Impact on Crown Dependencies: Departments must identify the implications, if any, of their legislation for the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey (which includes Alderney and Sark) and the Isle of Man) and where appropriate seek the consent of the Insular Authorities. Legislation Committee will need to be satisfied that agreement has been reached with the Insular Authorities before it gives approval for a Bill to be introduced to Parliament.
3.15 Queen's and Prince's Consent: The department should identify at as early a stage as possible whether Queen's or Prince's Consent are required – advice should be sought from Parliamentary Counsel as these may be required in some unexpected cases and the agreement of the House authorities will be required. The department must then seek these Consents, which are usually signified at Third Reading, but may be required at Second Reading in certain circumstances. If there is any doubt as to whether these Consents are required or when they should be signified, Parliamentary Counsel will consult the two Public Bill Offices.
3.16 Tax and public expenditure implications: The agreement of the relevant Treasury Minister must be obtained to any tax proposal, or to tax implications of new activities or bodies proposed. Treasury agreement must also be obtained to the Bill's public expenditure and public service manpower implications. Bilateral agreement with the Treasury should have been reached before the policy comes for collective agreement. Departments must also ensure they observe the guidance on expenditure propriety in Managing Public Money [External website]. Departments cannot normally incur expenditure in advance of both Royal Assent of the enabling legislation and any necessary Parliamentary authority through the Appropriation Act.
3.17 Publication in draft: The Government has made a commitment to publish more Bills in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny. Initial Legislation Committee agreement is needed to the principle of publication in draft, usually as part of the annual bidding round for Bills. Once drafting reaches an advanced stage, Business Managers will seek agreement through the usual channels to a plan for pre-legislative scrutiny and then make the necessary arrangements with the House authorities. When the Bill is ready for publication in draft, it must be circulated to Legislation Committee for clearance along with a covering Memorandum, Explanatory Notes, Impact Assessment and ECHR statement. A Draft Bill should be presented to Parliament and published as a Command Paper.
3.18 Draft Legislative Programme: The 2007-08 session was the first for which the Government published its proposals for legislation in draft in advance of the Queen's Speech. Further draft legislative programmes for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 sessions were published for consultation in May 2008 and June 2009 respectively and it is expected that this will happen again in future years. Bill teams will be asked to provide a contribution on their Bill and will need to consider any comments about the Bill arising out of the consultation.
3.19 Queen's Speech: Again, Bill teams will be asked to provide a very brief contribution to the Queen's Speech and accompanying Prime Ministerial statement at the start of the Parliamentary session, as well as more detailed material to be included in the briefing pack.
3.20 Handling strategies: Bill teams will need to prepare a Parliamentary Handling Strategy and a wider stakeholder/media handling strategy in consultation with the Government Whips' Offices in the Commons and Lords and with the departmental press office respectively.
3.21 Legislation Committee approval for introduction: When the Bill is ready for introduction, it must be circulated to Legislation Committee accompanied by a covering Memorandum, along with Explanatory Notes, Impact Assessment, Memorandum on compatibility with the ECHR, Parliamentary handling strategy and Delegated Powers Memorandum. The Committee will usually meet to agree to the Bill's introduction. Further Legislation Committee approval is needed to make any amendments to the Bill after introduction, though such amendments should be kept to a minimum.
3.22 The Bill may start in either the Commons or the Lords. The House and date of introduction will be agreed by Legislation Committee on advice from the Business Managers. The following notes assume that the Bill starts in the Commons, then goes to the Lords. Bills starting in the Lords must complete the same stages.
3.23 Introduction into the Commons and First Reading: The final text of the Bill and Explanatory Notes are supplied by Parliamentary Counsel to the Public Bill Office. The department should ensure that the Minister who will be in charge of the Bill has signed the ECHR statement and that this has been sent to Parliamentary Counsel. The department is directly responsible for the publication of an Impact Assessment and of Transposition Notes (if published separately from the Explanatory Notes), and for ensuring the appropriate availability of relevant older papers and revised editions of Acts. Supporting papers must be delivered to the Vote Office (who will be able to advise on how many copies are required); it is not sufficient to refer Members to a website. Papers may be deposited in the Library, but these are record copies, not part of supplying papers to the House at large. The department must also publish a Delegated Powers Memorandum. At First Reading, the Clerk of the Table reads out the short title of the Bill, a Minister nods and the Bill is deemed to have been read the first time.
3.24 Commons Second Reading: This is the first debate on the general principle of the Bill. There is a convention that such a debate will not usually take place until two weekends have passed following the publication of the Bill. Speaking notes and briefing need to be prepared for both the Minister opening and the Minister winding up the debate. Programme motions, Money Resolutions and Ways and Means Resolutions (and sometimes Carry-over motions) are normally taken immediately after Second Reading without debate. Thier preparation is a matter for Parliamentary Counsel.
3.25 Commons Committee Stage: This is the principal stage for detailed scrutiny and amendment of the Bill and can begin the week after Second Reading. Scrutiny normally takes place in a Public Bill Committee (formerly known as a ‘standing committee’) which in most cases (except for Lords starters or Bills that have been subject to pre-legislative scrutiny) will take oral evidence (including from the Minister and officials) before beginning clause by clause scrutiny of the Bill according to the programme motion. Scrutiny can however take place in Committee of the whole House. Amendments can be tabled by the Government, the opposition or backbenchers: clearance to table Government amendments must in general be obtained from Legislation Committee, and from the relevant policy Committee of Cabinet if the amendments represent a change in policy. Briefing and speaking notes must be produced for Ministers on each clause (Clause Stand Part) and on any amendments tabled.
3.26 Commons Report Stage: A further chance to consider amendments to the Bill, this happens on the floor of the House and can take place anytime from a week after Committee (or sometimes even earlier). Debate is confined to amendments selected for debate, rather than a clause by clause examination. This is the final amending stage.
3.27 Commons Third Reading: Normally takes place immediately after Report Stage and is a further chance for the House to consider whether it wishes the Bill as a whole to proceed, in the light of amendments at Committee and Report Stage. No amendments (other than 'purely verbal' amendments, which are extremely rare) are permitted at Third Reading.
3.28 Transmission to the Lords and First Reading: When a Bill is passed by the Commons, it is taken to the Lords by a Commons Clerk. The First Reading is moved immediately without debate and the Bill is printed. If a Bill comes from the Commons, the Explanatory Notes and Impact Assessment should be revised to take into account changes in the first House and a further ECHR statement must be signed by the Minister who is in charge of the Bill in the second House. The Minister must also formally submit the Delegated Powers Memorandum to the Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, having updated it to reflect any changes made to the Bill in the Commons.
3.29 Lords Second Reading: As with the Commons, a debate on the principles of the Bill. This can take place once two weekends have elapsed since introduction. Procedure is similar to Second Reading in the Commons, with some minor differences. There is no Programme Motion in the Lords.
3.30 Lords Committee: Takes place on the floor of the House (Committee of the whole House), or in a committee room (Grand Committee), and can begin after fourteen calendar days have elapsed since Second Reading. This is a clause by clause examination of the Bill. The requirement for producing speaking notes and background for Ministers on clauses and amendments is the same as in the Commons. As in the Commons, Legislation Committee clearance must be sought to table Government amendments to the Bill, and policy clearance is also necessary if the amendments would effect a change in Government policy.
3.31 Lords Report Stage: For all Bills of considerable length and complexity, at least fourteen calendar days after Committee. Debate is limited to amendments before the House, so there is no need to debate each clause.
3.32 Lords Third Reading: At least three clear sitting days after Report Stage. The scope for amendments is limited at this stage.
3.33 Consideration of Lords/Commons Amendments: If the Bill has been amended in the Second House, it goes back to the House of introduction for consideration of the amendments in question. The first House can accept, reject, amend or suggest an alternative to the amendments, which the second House will then consider. The matter goes back and forward between the two Houses (‘ping pong’) until agreement has been reached – or until there is “double insistence”1 and the Bill falls.
On completion of Parliamentary stages
3.34 Royal Assent: Takes place throughout the session by notification from the Speaker of each House or at prorogation. Requests for particular dates should be made through the Government Whips' Office in the Lords before the Bill is introduced. Bill teams must make known to L Committee any requirements for Royal Assent by a particular date.
3.35 Commencement: Commencement dates should be specified in the Act where possible and appropriate. No substantive provision of an Act should be brought into operation earlier than two months after Royal Assent, although the back end of the Bill can be brought into power on Royal Assent, that is, what the Bill is to be cited as, what the procedure is for making regulations and such like. However, in exceptional circumstances, approval for early commencement should be sought from the Law Officers and the Chair of Legislation Committee. Retrospective provisions also need to be agreed by the Law Officers.
3.36 Printing: Departments should let Parliamentary Counsel and HMSO know if an Act is expected to come into operation immediately, so that arrangements can be made for early clearance of the approved text, expedited printing and immediate publication of the Act on the website of the Office of Public Sector Information.
3.37 Guidance and publicity: Where new legislation affects business or the third sector, guidance should be published as early as possible before the Act comes into effect, and the changes in the law should be publicised. Departments should not leave preparation of guidance to the last minute, as other bodies may need time to prepare for the changes. Departments should consider which other groups should be informed of the new legislation, and how this can be achieved most effectively.
1 The term “double insistence” is used to describe a situation where one House insists on an amendment to which the other has disagreed, and the other House insists on its disagreement without any alternative proposal. If this point is reached, and neither House has offered alternatives, the bill is lost.