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FOCUS ON THE STAGES OF A BILL
So, how does a Bill go through Parliament? How much parliamentary support does it need? What's
the timetable? Here we take a brief look at the stages a bill goes through.
First reading
The Minister responsible for a Bill announces the bill and its title. There is no debate or vote
at this stage.
Second reading
The Second Reading is important as it determines whether there is a majority in the
House of Commons for the bill to proceed further. The debate at this stage is on the general principles of the bill rather than the detail and no amendments can be made.
Committee stage
It is at this stage that a Committee of MPs will examine the bill in great detail, line by
line, clause by clause. Amendments can be tabled, debated, passed or rejected.
The Committee of MPs reflects the party composition of the House and the views expressed at the Second
Reading.
Report stage
The Report Stage, as its name suggests, is when the whole House hears a report of the changes made to
the bill in Committee. Now the MPs who were not on the Committee have their chance to propose amendments to the bill.
If the Bill has not been amended as described above by this stage there will
almost certainly be further attempts to amend it.
Third Reading
The Third Reading, like the First Reading, is a little more than a formality, with no debate, although
there will be a vote. Assuming there is a majority in favour of the bill it then proceeds to the Lords. The Third Reading usually takes place immediately after the Report Stage.
House of Lords
In the Lords the bill will go through a similar set of readings as it did in the
Commons. The
main differences are that the Committee Stage will generally be a "Committee of the Whole House", enabling all peers to propose amendments. There is also an opportunity for further amendments at the Third Reading.
If the Lords accept a bill without amendments it then receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act of Parliament.
If amendments to a bill are passed in the Lords, the Bill is sent back to the Commons
where MPs debate the Lords' amendments. If they reject them, the bill returns to the Lords when peers generally bow to the supremacy of the Commons and approve the bill.
The Parliament Act
In cases where there is a stalemate the Parliament Act can be invoked. This Act ensures that the
will of the democratically elected House of Commons prevails. If the Bill is rejected by the Lords, then the Bill will have to be passed again by the House of Commons and sent back to the Lords one more
time. If the Lords again reject it, their opposition can be ignored and the Bill given Royal Assent as if it had been passed by the Lords
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