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Types of Bills which can be passed by Parliament
Types of Bills which can be passed by Parliament
Public
Private Members (Public Bill)
Private
Hybrid Bills
Public Bills
Public Bills
Purpose: To change the law for the general public.
Origin: Most are proposed by government ministers, but others are Private Members' Bills proposed by other MPs or Lords.
Scope: They apply to everyone and are the most common type of bill introduced.
Financial Bills: Those that deal with public money, such as new taxes, are always introduced in the House of Commons.
Private Members' Bills
Purpose: To change the law in a way that affects the general population.
Origin: Introduced by an MP or Lord who is not a government minister.
Impact: They are a minority of bills, but can be used to raise the profile of an issue.
Private Bills
Purpose: To change the law to benefit or affect a specific, limited set of interests, such as a single organization, individual, or local area.
Scope: These are often local in character and can grant special powers to bodies like local authorities.
Procedure: Most of their consideration takes place off the floor of the House, where affected parties can present their cases.
Hybrid Bills
Purpose: To combine aspects of both Public and Private Bills.
Scope: They are Public Bills that also have a specific private effect on certain individuals or groups.
Procedure: They go through the process for both public and private bills, including select committee scrutiny if petitions are presented. A well-known example is the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill.
There are three types of private members' bills: Ballot Bills, Ten Minute Rule Bills, and Presentation Bills. Ballot Bills have the best chance of becoming law because they are selected by a draw and are given priority for debate. Ten Minute Rule Bills allow an MP to make a 10-minute speech to promote a bill, while Presentation Bills are introduced by simply stating the bill's title without a debate.
1. Ballot Bills
How they are introduced: At the start of a new parliamentary session, backbench MPs can enter a ballot, and the top 20 names drawn get to introduce a bill.
Purpose: These bills have priority for debate and the best chance of becoming law, as they are given time on specific Fridays set aside for private members' bills.
Example: The government may even provide a draft bill to a backbencher who wins a place in the ballot, creating a "handout bill" that the government supports, as seen in the Institute for Government article.
2. Ten Minute Rule Bills
How they are introduced: An MP gives notice to bring in a bill and can make a 10-minute speech in the House of Commons to advocate for it after Question Time on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Purpose: This method is often used to bring a specific issue to public attention and get a bill's title read out in Parliament, though they are unlikely to become law due to a lack of debate time.
Example: This type of bill can be a valuable campaigning tool even if it doesn't pass.
3. Presentation Bills
How they are introduced: An MP simply presents the bill to the House of Commons by giving its title to the clerk.
Purpose: Under Standing Order 57, this method allows an MP to introduce a bill but does not provide any time for debate, meaning they have virtually no chance of becoming law.
Example: This is a way to formally put a bill on the parliamentary record without taking up any time for discussion
The success rate for Private Member's Bills (PMBs) is generally very low, with only a small minority becoming law. However, the success rate varies significantly depending on the method of introduction and whether the bill has government support.
Overall Success Rates
Out of the more than 2,500 PMBs introduced between 2010 and 2024, only around 110 received Royal Assent, a success rate of about 4-5%. In any given parliamentary session, typically only a handful of PMBs become law
Example 2023
Carer's Leave Act 2023: Introduced a new statutory right to one week of unpaid leave annually for employees with caring responsibilities.
Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023: Ensures that employers pass on all tips, gratuities, and service charges to workers without deductions.
Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023: Provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave for parents of premature or sick babies, a right which will come into force in April 2025.
Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023: Created an offence for causing intentional harassment, alarm, or distress to a person in public because of their sex.
Shark Fins Act 2023: Prohibits the import and export of detached shark fins and related products into and from the UK.
Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023: Amended the law to make the right to request flexible working a day-one right for all employees, which came into force in April 2024.
Private Member's Bills (PMBs) are difficult to pass primarily due to severe time constraints, the ease with which a small number of opponents can use procedural tactics to block them, and the crucial requirement for government support to overcome these hurdles.
Famous and successful private members' bills include the Abortion Act 1967, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, and the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965. More recently, successful private members' bills include those that led to the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
Landmark social reforms
Abortion Act 1967: Legalized abortion under specific circumstances in Great Britain.
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965: Initially suspended the death penalty for murder and later made its abolition permanent.
Decriminalisation of homosexuality: This was achieved through a series of private members' bills in 1967 for England and Wales.
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013: Legalized same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019: Extended civil partnerships to heterosexual couples.
Passage of a Bill
Passage of a Bill
Origin A bill may originate as a Green Paper (a document setting out options for legislation and inviting consultation) and/or a White Paper (a more detailed statement of the government's intentions) — but this whole stage is not compulsory.
First reading (in the Commons in this example) First compulsory stage. The bill is made available to MPs but is not debated or voted on at this stage.
Second reading Principle of the bill is debated and a vote may be taken if it is contested.
Committee stage Bill is scrutinised in detail by a public bill committee, formerly known as a standing committee, whose membership reflects the strength of the parties in the Commons. Amendments may be made at this stage if the government is prepared to accept them.
Report stage Whole House considers amendments made at the committee stage and may accept or reject them.
Third reading Amended bill is debated and voted on by the whole House.
House of Lords stages Bill goes through the same stages in the Lords, with the exception of the committee stage, which is carried out by the whole House. The Lords can propose amendments. The Commons has to decide whether to accept, reject or further amend these. The bill can go back and forth between the two Houses for up to a year before it becomes law, in a process popularly known as 'parliamentary ping pong'.
Royal assent Monarch signs the bill, making it law. This stage is a formality as the sovereign is a constitutional monarch, who would not get involved in politics by refusing to sign a bill.
Examples of parliamentary ping-pong include the recent back-and-forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the Data (Use and Access) Bill, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, and the Renters’ Rights Bill. These bills have gone through multiple rounds of amendments, with each House sending its disagreements back to the other for further consideration until a final version is agreed upon.
How does Parliament vote?
How does Parliament vote?
In the UK Parliament, votes on legislation and motions are typically conducted in two stages: an initial voice vote followed by a formal recorded vote called a "division" if the outcome of the voice vote is unclear or challenged.
House of Commons
The process in the House of Commons is as follows:
Voice Vote: The Speaker or chair first asks Members of Parliament (MPs) to call out "Aye" (in favour) or "No" (against). The Speaker judges which side is louder and declares the result.
Division: If the Speaker is unsure of the result, or if MPs continue to shout their ayes or noes, a formal vote, known as a division, is called. The Speaker announces "Division, clear the lobbies!".
Lobby Voting: Bells ring throughout the parliamentary estate to alert MPs who are not in the chamber. MPs have 10 minutes to get to one of two "division lobbies" that run along either side of the chamber.
MPs supporting the motion walk through the "Aye" lobby.
MPs opposing the motion walk through the "No" lobby.
Recording Votes: As MPs walk through the lobbies, their names are recorded using electronic pass readers, and two "tellers" (usually whips from the parties) physically count the number of members in each lobby.
Result: Once both lobbies are clear, the tellers return to the chamber and declare the numbers. The Speaker then announces the final result.
House of Lords
A similar process takes place in the House of Lords:
Voice Vote: Members are asked to call out "Content" (in favour) or "Not Content" (against).
Division: If a formal vote is required, members walk through the "Content" or "Not Content" lobbies, using pass readers to record their votes, with tellers confirming the numbers.
The coronavirus pandemic, and need for social distancing, meant that votes in the Commons worked differently to usual. Before the 2020 Easter recess, MPs informally agreed not to hold votes on legislation, allowing MPs not to have to attend the chamber. But this was not a sustainable approach. After the Easter recess, a temporary system for remote voting was introduced in the Commons – a major break with tradition. In late May 2020, the government allowed this temporary system to expire, emphasising their belief that MPs should vote in person. But the need to maintain social distancing meant that MPs had to vote in the chamber, one at a time, leading to long queues of MPs snaking through the parliamentary estate – and meaning that votes took far longer than usual.
Anger among MPs at this system – and concern that MPs with medical issues would be effectively excluded from voting in the Commons – led the government to make some concessions. It allowed shielding and clinically vulnerable MPs unable to attend parliament to vote using a proxy. On 10 June 2020, this system was further extended to allow any MP to claim a proxy for medical or public health reasons related to the pandemic.
This temporary system was extended several times, until it lapsed in July 2021
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