Describe the methods by which Parliament creates statutes.

ASSIGNMENT A

Describe the methods by which Parliament creates statutes.

Statues are laws made by Parliament and are otherwise known as Acts of Parliament. In practical terms, however, laws are not created by a single ‘act’ but rather through a lengthy and thorough process. In this essay, I will outline the legislative process and describe the methods by which Acts of Parliament, or statutes, are created.

Every statutory law begins life as a Bill. A Bill is a draft Act of Parliament and it could have a number of sources. Most Bills are introduced by the current Government in power at the time, and they attempt to meet the promises made during their election campaign in their manifesto. Bills introduced by parliament are known as public Bills. Ministers and their civil servants are responsible for the content of Bills.

Private Bills, by contrast, are created by an individual or by an organisation outside of Parliament. For example, a local authority wishing to build a new development might propose a Private Bill. If an individual MP wishes to put forward a Bill, then it is called a Private Member’s Bill. These often fail to make it as an Act of Parliament without widespread support. However, some important legislation has originated in a Private Member’s Bill. An example would be The Murder (abolition of death penalty) Act 1965 which successfully abolished the death penalty.

Bills, once they have been created, are introduced either into the House of Commons or the House of Lords, except for all important finance Bills, which must start life in the House of Commons. A new Bill must be thoroughly reviewed in a series of stages before it can be passed as an Act of Parliament. It will often require several amendments.

To begin with, the Government will publish a Green Paper to act as a focus for discussion in the public arena. Feedback from the general public and interested organisations as well as experts is invited. The ...

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Next, a White Paper is issued based on more definite proposals to invite more focused debate on the potential legislation. Once this has been discussed and examined, a Bill will be introduced to Parliament for its consideration.

The Bill will undergo three readings in the House of Commons, as well as a Committee Stage and a Report Stage. The first reading is a purely formal introduction in the form of a summary. A vote is taken concerning the Bill and if there is enough support for it, then the Bill will pass to the next stage.

The second reading invites debate on the Bill’s ideas and proposals after which another vote is taken. Should there be enough support then the Bill will then be examined by a Committee chosen to reflect the expertise and party strengths in the Commons. They look at the Bill clause-by-clause and either approve the proposals or suggest amendments. Sometimes, there is no specific Select Committee in which case the debate takes place in a Committee of the Whole House.

After the Committee stage, there is a Report stage (also known as the Consideration) which allows all MPs the chance to examine the amended Bill in detail. Once this is complete, the Bill will undergo a third reading – a final debate on the overall content of the Bill after which there is a further vote. The Bill is very unlikely to fail at this stage since any opposition to the content of the Bill will have already been examined and dealt with.

If the Bill is successful in the House of Commons, it will then be put before the House of Lords. Discussion then proceeds in a more or less similar format with three readings, a Committee stage and a Report stage. The main difference between the two Houses is that in the House of Lords, the Committee stage will always involve the whole House unlike in the House of Commons.

If the Bill passes unchanged through the House of Lords, it will then pass to the Queen for Royal Assent. This is a mere formality now – since the Royal Assent Act 1961, the Queen does not even have the Bill in front of her. Once a Bill has been given Royal Assent, it becomes a law.

If any amendments have been made in the House of Lords, then the Bill returns for the Commons for debate. Sometimes a Bill will pass back and forth between the two Houses for many years before being passed as an Act of Parliament. However, the House of Commons possesses more power than the House of Lords, for it is the elected part of Parliament. The House of Commons can overrule the Lords in case of a disagreement about the Bill’s content. This power originated in the Parliament Act 1911 and the Parliament Act 1949. The House of Lords is now seen as a place where revisions can be made rather than a place where the whole Bill can be approved or opposed.

The length of time which the legislative process takes will depend upon the urgency of the situation. It normally will take several months or even years, although in times of national emergency the whole process can be completed in a matter or days.

TMA (A) Rebecca Milburn Page