How a Bill becomes a Law

We’ve talked about the ‘Bill’s journey’, but what actually is it?

When a Bill enters Parliament, it doesn’t immediately become law. Instead, it has quite a long complicated process to get there and if you’re confused by all the First Reading Second Reading terminology we’ve been using, don’t worry because this blog should explain everything.

First off, there are a few different types of Bills, but you only need to know about one: The Private Members Bill because that’s what ours is. A Private Member’s Bill is one that can be introduced by any MP: frontbencher, backbencher or leading party member. 

Our Bill was introduced under the 10 Minute Rule, meaning our MP (Nadia Whittome) had 10 minutes to present it to the rest of the House before those MPs make an informal vote on whether it should continue. This is the First Reading.

Then comes the Second Reading, where the Bill is presented to the House of Commons again, this time in more detail. The MPs present then discuss the Bill and vote on whether it should pass to the next stage. Our Second Reading will be on January 28th and we need at least 40 MPs to be present for a vote.

If the Bill passes this Reading, it will move onto the Committee Stage. Here, a group of stakeholders (MPs, Lords and experts in the field) discuss the Bill and make amendments to it. This stage usually happens two weeks after the Second Reading and takes around eight days.

Once the Committee has agreed on the Bill, they take it back to the House of Commons for the Report Stage. The whole House reviews the Bill and discusses any further amendments. This can take some time and, unfortunately, opposing MPs can take up lots of time in the debate to delay or prevent the Bill from progressing.

When the whole House agree on the Bill, a Third Reading is held for the Bill. The Bill, including amendments, is read out to MPs in the House. This is the last stage where the bill can be fully rejected, though this rarely happens at this stage.

After the Third Reading, the Bill will be passed to the House of Lords to go through the same five-step process. If any new amendments are made during this time, the Bill is passed back to the House of Commons after the Third Reading in the House of Lords. MPs in the House of Commons would then go through the five stages again. This cycle repeats until the two Houses agree.

The final stage is Royal Assent. The Bill’s short title (English Climate Emergency Education Bill) is given to the Queen, which she can accept or refuse. If she accepts, the Bill will come into law on that date unless specified differently in the Bill. While the Queen can refuse Royal Assent, this is incredibly rare and hasn’t been done in over 300 years.

Hopefully, this clears things up. We know it’s not the simplest thing but then Parliament never is and this blog will be here whenever you need it.