Committee Stage (Looking at the details)

It is during the Committee Stage, that MPs are, for the first time, allowed to examine all the detail of a Bill and suggest some changes or amendments to it. Most Government Bills are considered by small committees of between 15 and 50 MPs known as Standing Committees.

Often a Bill which has constitutional significance or requires a very rapid passage will be heard by a Committee of the Whole House, i.e. in the Chamber, so that all Members can contribute.

Report Stage (Further consideration and changes by the whole House)

After the Committee Stage, the whole House of Commons has to be told what changes have been instituted since only a small number of Members are involved in the committee meetings. If there have been amendments, the Bill will be reprinted before the Report Stage so that Members could see how the changes fit into the Bill as a whole. MPs can suggest further changes if they want to. The Report Stage is not necessary if the Bill has been considered by a Committee of the Whole House.

Third Reading (Overall examination of the Bill)

At this stage the House of Commons is given a chance to look again at the Bill as a whole, with all its amendments, and decide whether it should go any further. The Bill cannot be changed substantially at this stage – it is either accepted or rejected. Once a Bill has passed its Third Reading in the Commons, it is forwarded to the House of Lords for further consideration.

The House of Lords

To spread legislative workload more evenly between the two Houses a sizeable proportion of all Bills begins in the House of Lords. By convention the Lords do not reject legislation on matters which were in the Government's manifesto (election pledge). The Act of 1949 provides that any Public Bill passed by the Commons in two successive parliamentary sessions and rejected both times by the Lords, may be presented for the Royal Assent, even though it has not been passed by the Lords. The Lords, therefore, can only delay the passage of a Public Bill, they cannot reject it.

The Lords cannot make changes to a Money Bill (although it can delay Money Bills for one month). It is the House of Commons which is elected by the public that should make the decisions on the amount of taxes people have to pay and the like.

The stages of a Bill in the House of Lords are pretty much the same as those in the House of Commons.

Any changes made to a Bill in the House of Lords have to be considered in the House of Commons, for which purpose they are taken back to the lower chamber. The Commons normally accept most of the Lords’ amendments which are non-controversial.

The Royal Assent

Once both Houses of Parliament have passed a Bill, it has to go to the Queen for the Royal Assent. No monarchs since the sixteenth century have signed Bills themselves. Queen Ann became the last monarch to reject a Bill in 1707.

Once a Bill has received the Royal Assent it becomes an Act of Parliament.

Bill And Law

In the British Parliament a bill is usually produced by the Government, and discussed in the House of Commons. Then it goes to the House of Lords. Finally, it receives the Royal Assent (it is signed by the Queen) and becomes law.

Analyse the chart.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 982