Session 2014-15
Addendum to Standing Orders June 2014
ADDENDUM
TO THE
STANDING ORDERS
OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
RELATING TO PRIVATE BUSINESS
22 July 2014
New Standing Order 224A
Amendments to Standing Orders 12, 12A, 27 and 55
Reprinted from the
Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons
of 26 June 2013 and 21 July 2014
The text of the amended Standing Orders is as follows.
Comments on environmental statement (HL 83A)
224A. (1) This order applies to any government bill in relation to which the Examiner decides Standing Orders 4 to 68 are applicable and in relation to which an environmental statement is required to be deposited under Standing Order 27A.
(2) In this order:
(a) " the relevant Minister" means the Minister of the Crown with responsibility for the bill;
(b) " the environmental statement" means the environmental information originally deposited by the relevant Minister in relation to the bill for the purpose of Standing Order 27A;
(c) " supplementary environmental information" means any additional environmental information deposited by the relevant Minister, after the deposit of the environmental statement, to supplement that statement for the purpose of meeting the requirements of any EU Directive relating to environmental impact assessment.
(3) The notice published under Standing Order 10 in relation to the bill shall state that any person who wishes to make comments on the environmental statement should send them to the relevant Minister in such manner and on or before such date as shall be specified by the relevant Minister in the notice, that date being no earlier than the 56th day after the first publication of the notice.
(4) For the purpose of Standing Order 224 paragraph (3) shall be treated as one of the Standing Orders compliance with which must be examined by the Examiner.
(5) The relevant Minister shall, in such form as may be specified by the Examiner, publish and deposit in the Private Bill Office any comments received by him in accordance with this order and shall also submit those comments to the independent assessor appointed under paragraph (6) below. The relevant Minister shall deposit a certificate in the Private Bill Office setting out the date on which all comments have been received by the independent assessor.
(6) ( a ) If the bill originated in this House and if comments are received on the environmental statement in accordance with this order:
i . a report shall be prepared by an independent assessor summarising the issues raised by those comments;
ii. the Examiner shall appoint the independent assessor within the period for commenting on the environmental statement prescribed by paragraph (3) above;
iii. the assessor shall be instructed to prepare the report within such period as the Examiner shall specify, the end of that period being no earlier than the 28th day after the date certified by the relevant Minister, in accordance with paragraph (5) above, as the date on which the assessor received all of the comments from the relevant Minister;
iv. before specifying a period in accordance with sub-sub-paragraph (iii) above, the Examiner shall consult the relevant Minister on the length of this period;
v . the Examiner shall submit the report of the assessor to the House.
(b) If a report is submitted to the House in accordance with sub-paragraph (a )( v) above, the Examiner has leave to submit the report of the assessor to the House of Lords.
(7) If paragraph (6) above is applied, the bill shall not receive a second reading until at least 14 days after the report of the independent assessor on the comments on the environmental statement has been submitted to the House.
(8) If any supplementary environmental information is deposited in relation to the bill:
(a) it shall be prefaced with a statement that the information is being deposited as supplementary information under this order;
(b) the requirements of Standing Order 27A in relation to the deposit of copies of the environmental statement shall apply to the supplementary environmental information;
(c) copies of the supplementary environmental information shall be made available for inspection and sale at the offices prescribed by Standing Order 27A(6);
(d) notice shall be published in accordance with Standing Order 10 (save in respect of dates) above stating that any person who wishes to make comments on the supplementary environmental information should send them to the relevant Minister in such manner and within such period as may be specified in the notice, the end of that period being no earlier than the 42nd day after the date of the first publication of the notice;
(e) paragraphs (5) and (6) above shall have effect in relation to any comments received on any supplementary environmental information deposited in this House as they apply to comments received on the environmental statement and irrespective of the bill’s House of origin;
(f) the examiner shall examine and report to the House whether or not paragraphs (8)(a) to (d) have been complied with and Standing Order 224 shall apply to that examination.
(g) the bill shall not receive a third reading in this House or, if supplementary environmental information has been submitted before second reading, second reading in this House until at least 14 days after the assessor’s report on the comments on the supplementary environmental information has been submitted to the House.
(9) At third reading of the bill the relevant Minister shall set out:
(a) the main reasons and considerations upon which Parliament is invited to give consent to the project to be authorised by the bill;
(b) the main measures to avoid, reduce and, if possible, offset the major adverse effects of the project.
A written statement setting out this information shall be laid before this House not less than 7 days before third reading.
(10) The costs of the assessor and also the costs of the process of appointing an assessor, incurred by the House by virtue of paragraphs (6) and (8 )( e) above, shall be reimbursed by the government.
(11) For the avoidance of doubt, any supplementary environmental information accompanying an amendment to a bill which, if the bill were a private bill, would require a petition for an additional provision shall be subject to paragraph (8) above and not paragraph (3) or (7) above.
(26 June 2013)
Posting of notices in case of tramway etc., bills. (HL12)
12.-(1) In the case of a bill whereby it is proposed, in connection with the construction of a tramway or a trolley vehicle system or an underground railway or tramroad, to alter or disturb the surface of any street or road-
(a) not later than 12th November application shall be made in writing to every authority having control of any street or road the surface of which it is proposed to alter or disturb for directions as to the manner in which notice of such proposed alteration or disturbance is to be posted in, or where that is not reasonably practicable, in some conspicuous position as close as is reasonably practicable to, the street or road;
(b) not later than 20th November notice of such proposed alteration or disturbance shall be posted in, or where that is not reasonably practicable, in some conspicuous position as close as is reasonably practicable to, every such street or road in the manner directed by the said authority or, if no directions have been received from the said authority within seven days after the said application, in some conspicuous position in the street or road, or where that is not reasonably practicable, in some conspicuous position as close as is reasonably practicable to the street or road;
(c) the said notice shall be kept posted as aforesaid for not less than fourteen consecutive days.
(2) Where it is proposed to alter or disturb the surface of any street or road in connection with the construction of a tramway or an underground railway or tramroad, the notice posted under this order in the street or road shall also state the place or places at which the plans of the tramway, railway or tramroad will be or have been deposited for public inspection under Standing Orders 27 (Deposit of plan, book of reference, and section, etc.) and 36 (Deposit of copy of plan, etc., in certain cases with certain local authorities) with local government officers for areas comprising the street or road or any part thereof.
Posting of notices in case of stopping up etc., of public footpaths or bridleways. (HL 12A)
12A. In the case of a bill whereby it is proposed to stop up or divert any specified public footpath or bridleway, not later than 20th November notice of the proposal shall be displayed in a prominent position-
(a) at each end ("the notifiable end") of the part of the footpath or bridleway proposed to be stopped up or diverted; or
(b) where the notifiable end is not reasonably accessible or its exact location is not readily visible, at some other place where the notice is likely to come to the attention of persons seeking to use the footpath or bridleway.
Deposit of plan, book of reference, and section, etc. (HL 27)
27.-(1) In the case of a bill whereby it is proposed-
(a) to authorise the construction of works to which this order applies, or the alteration of any such works authorised by a former Act; or
(b) to authorise the compulsory acquisition of any lands or buildings or of rights to use any lands or buildings; or
(c) to render liable to the imposition of an improvement charge any lands or buildings;
there shall, on or before 20th November, be deposited with the proper officer of the council of each county, metropolitan district, unitary district, or London borough or (in Wales) of each county or county borough or (in Scotland) of each local government area in which any such works, lands or buildings are situate a plan of the works or alteration of works, and of the lands or buildings, and a book of reference thereto, and also, where the construction or alteration of works is proposed to be authorised, a section of the works to be constructed or the alteration to be made:
Provided that it shall be sufficient (at the option of the promoters) to deposit with the proper officer of the council of each county, metropolitan district, unitary district, and London borough and (in Wales) of each county or county borough or (in Scotland) of each local government area so much only of the said plan and section and book of reference as relates to the works, lands or buildings in the county, metropolitan district, unitary district, or London borough or (in Wales) the county or county borough or (in Scotland) the local government area:
Provided also that, in the case of a bill whereby it is proposed to revive the powers granted by a former Act for the construction or alteration of works, the deposit of a plan and section of the works shall not be required if-
(a) the former Act was passed not more than ten years previously to the deposit of the petition for the bill; or
(b) the lands in or upon which the works are proposed to be constructed or altered have been acquired by, or are vested in the promoters; or
(c) the construction or alteration of the works has been commenced.
(2) In the case of a bill whereby it is proposed to authorise the construction of a railway or tramroad, there shall be deposited with such plans an ordnance map on the scale of 1/50,000 with the line of the railway or tramroad delineated thereon so as to show its general course of direction.
(3) Any such plan, section, book of reference and ordnance map may, instead of being deposited as aforesaid, be sent by registered post to the office of the proper officer of the council of the county, metropolitan district, unitary district, or London borough or (in Wales) of the county or county borough or (in Scotland) of the local government area, and if so sent shall be posted on or before 17th November.
(4) The proper officer or chief executive of the council of each county, metropolitan district, or London borough or (in Wales) each county or county borough or (in Scotland) each local government area, shall make on every plan, section and book of reference deposited with him a memorial in writing denoting the date and hour when it was lodged at his office, and shall at all reasonable hours of the day permit any person to inspect it and to make copies thereof or extracts therefrom.
(5) On or before 20th November, one copy of every such plan, section, book of reference and ordnance map shall be deposited in the Private Bill Office, and copies of the same shall be deposited in accordance with Standing Order 1A.
(6) The works to which this order applies are works of any of the following descriptions:-
Aqueduct.
Archway.
Bridge.
Canal.
Cut.
Dock.
Drainage-where it is not provided in the bill that the cut shall not be more than 3.4 metres wide at the bottom.
Embankment for re-claiming land from the sea or any tidal river.
Ferry.
Harbour.
Motor road.
Navigation.
Pier.
Port.
Public carriage road.
Railway.
Reservoir.
Sewer or waterpipe the internal diameter of which exceeds 1 metre.
Street.
Subway.
Tramroad.
Tramway.
Tunnel.
Waterwork (not including any underground pipe the internal diameter of which does not exceed 1 metre).
(7) This order shall apply to Greater London as if it were a county and the Greater London Authority were the council of the county.
Section. (HL 55)
55.-(1) The deposited section shall be drawn to the same horizontal scale as the deposited plan, and to a vertical scale of not less than 1/1,250, and shall show the surface of the ground marked on the plan, the intended level of the proposed work, the height of every embankment, and the depth of every cutting, and a datum horizontal line by reference to Ordnance Survey or Chart datum.
(2) The datum line shall be the same throughout the whole length of the work, and any branch thereof.
(3) Where tunnelling as a substitute for open cutting, or a viaduct as a substitute for solid embankment is intended, the same shall be marked on the deposited section.
(4) Wherever the extreme height of any embankment, or the extreme depth of any cutting, is intended to exceed 1.5 metres, the extreme height over, or depth under, the surface of the ground shall be marked in figures upon the section; and if any bridge or viaduct of more than three arches is intended to intervene in any embankment, or if any tunnel is intended to intervene in any cutting, the extreme height or depth shall be marked in figures on each of the parts into which such embankment or cutting will be divided by such bridge, viaduct, or tunnel.
(21 July 2014)