Standing Orders of the House of Commons

House of Commons

Standing Orders of the House of Commons - Public Business 1997- continued

Public Bills - continued

back to previous text

Debate on clause or schedule standing part     68. If, during the consideration of a bill in a committee of the whole House, the chairman is of opinion that the principle of a clause or schedule and any matters arising thereon have been adequately discussed in the course of debate on the amendments proposed thereto, he may, after the last amendment to be selected has been disposed of, state that he is of this opinion and shall then forthwith put the question "That the clause (or, the clause, as amended) stand part of the bill" or "That this schedule (or this schedule, as amended) be the schedule to the bill", as the case may be.

Procedure on offer of new clause     69. When a Member has brought up a clause or schedule in committee on a bill or on consideration of a bill on report, it shall be read the first time without any question being put.

When Chairman leaves chair without question put     70. When the chairman of a committee of the whole House has been ordered to make a report to the House, he shall leave the chair without putting any question. Every such report shall be brought up without any question being put.

Report of bill from committee of whole House     71. At the close of the proceedings of a committee of the whole House on a bill the chairman shall report the bill forthwith to the House, and when amendments shall have been made thereto, a day shall be appointed for taking the bill, as amended, into consideration, unless the House shall order it to be taken into consideration forthwith.

Consideration of bill as amended in committee of whole House     72. When the order of the day for the consideration of a bill, as amended in a committee of the whole House, has been read, the House shall proceed to consider the same without question put, unless the Member in charge thereof nominates a future day for its consideration or a motion shall be made to re-commit the bill in whole or in part.

Report of bills committed to standing committees     73. Save as provided in Standing Order No. 92 (Consideration on report of certain bills by a standing committee) every bill committed to and reported from a standing committee, whether amended or not, shall be considered on report by the House, and the provisions of Standing Order No. 72 (Consideration of bill as amended in committee of whole House) shall apply to such consideration.

Re-committal of bill     74. If a motion to re-commit a bill as a whole be made, the Speaker shall permit a brief explanatory statement of the reasons for such re-committal from the Member who makes, and a brief statement from a Member who opposes, any such motion, and shall then put the question thereon.

Amendments on report     75. Upon the consideration of a bill on report no amendment which could not have been proposed in committee without an instruction from the House may be proposed unless it has been authorised by a resolution of the House.

Debate on bill reported from standing committee     76. When a bill has been committed to a standing committee, or has been so committed in respect of some of its provisions, then, on consideration on report of the bill or such of its provisions as were so committed, the rule against speaking more than once shall not apply to the Member in charge of the bill or to the mover of any amendment or new clause or schedule in respect of that amendment or clause or schedule.

Third reading     77. No amendments, not being merely verbal, shall be made to any bill on the third reading.

Lords amendments     78. - (1) Lords amendments to public bills shall be appointed to be considered on a future day, unless the House shall order them to be considered forthwith.

    (2) When the order of the day for the consideration of Lords amendments to a public bill has been read, the House shall proceed to consider the same without question put, unless the Member in charge thereof nominates a future day for their consideration.

    (3) If the Speaker is satisfied that a Lords amendment imposes a charge upon the public revenue such as is required to be authorised by resolution of the House under Standing Order No. 49 (Certain proceedings relating to public money) and that such charge has not been so authorised, on reaching that amendment, the Speaker shall declare that she is so satisfied and the amendment shall be deemed to have been disagreed to and shall be so recorded in the Journal.

Pecuniary penalties     79. With respect to any bill brought to this House from the House of Lords, or returned by the House of Lords to this House, with amendments, whereby any pecuniary penalty, forfeiture, or fee shall be authorised, imposed, appropriated, regulated, varied, or extinguished, this House will not insist on its ancient and undoubted privileges in the following cases:

    (1) when the object of such pecuniary penalty or forfeiture is to secure the execution of the Act, or the punishment or prevention of offences;

    (2) where such fees are imposed in respect of benefit taken or service rendered under the Act, and in order to the execution of the Act, and are not made payable into the Consolidated Fund, or in aid of the public revenue, and do not form the ground of public accounting by the parties receiving the same, either in respect of deficit or surplus;

    (3) when such bill shall be a private bill for a local or personal Act.

Privilege (bills brought from the Lords)     80. The House may proceed with any public bill brought from the Lords except a bill of aids and supplies, provided that-

(a) it is so framed that no charge upon the people or upon public funds, unless it be such a charge as is defined in Standing Order No. 79 (Pecuniary penalties), is imposed or altered; and

(b) in the case of a bill which, if it were not so framed, would have as its main object the imposition or alteration of such a charge, a Minister of the Crown has informed the Clerk at the Table of his intention to take charge of it.

Temporary laws     81. The precise duration of every temporary law or enactment shall be expressed in a distinct clause or subsection of the bill.

Business Committee     82. There shall be a committee, to be called the Business Committee, consisting of the Chairman of Ways and Means, who shall be chairman of the committee, and not more than eight other Members to be nominated by the Speaker in respect of each bill to which this order applies. The quorum of the committee shall be four. The committee-

(a) shall, in the case of any bill in respect of which an order has been made by the House, allotting a specified number of days or portions of days to the consideration of the bill in committee of the whole House or on report, divide the bill into such parts as it may see fit and allot to each part so many days or portions of a day so allotted as it may consider appropriate; and

(b) shall report its resolution (or resolutions) to the House, and on a motion being made for the consideration of such report the question thereon shall be put forthwith and on consideration of the said report the question "That this House doth agree with the committee in its resolution (or resolutions)" shall be put forthwith and, if that question be agreed to, any such resolution shall have effect as if it were an order of the House.
Proceedings in pursuance of this sub-paragraph, though opposed, may be decided after the expiration of the time for opposed business.

Allocation of time to bills     83. If a motion be made by a Minister of the Crown providing for an allocation of time to any proceedings on a bill the Speaker shall, not more than three hours after the commencement of the proceedings on such a motion, put any question necessary to dispose of those proceedings.

Standing Committees

Constitution of standing committees     84. - (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of Standing Order No. 119 (European Standing Committees), as many standing committees shall be appointed as may be necessary for the consideration of bills or other business committed or referred to a standing committee.

    (2) Subject to the provisions of Standing Order No. 101 (Scottish Standing Committees), the bills committed and instruments (whether or not in draft) referred to a standing committee shall be distributed among the committees by the Speaker.

    (3) In all but one of the standing committees to which bills other than bills provided for in Standing Order No. 101 (Scottish Standing Committees) are committed or referred government bills shall have precedence.

    (4) Government bills allocated to a particular standing committee shall be considered in whatever order Her Majesty's Ministers may decide.

Chairmen of standing committees     85. - (1) The chairman or chairmen of each standing committee shall be appointed by the Speaker from the Chairmen's Panel.

    (2) The Speaker may change the chairmen so appointed from time to time.

    (3) When more than one chairman is appointed to a standing committee any of the chairmen so appointed may exercise the powers conferred by paragraph (3) of Standing Order No. 89 (Procedure in standing committees).

    (4) The Chairmen's Panel, of which three shall be a quorum, shall have power to consider matters of procedure relating to standing committees and to report its opinion thereupon to the House from time to time.

    (5) Any member of a standing committee may, at the request of the chairman of the committee, act as chairman for not more than a quarter of an hour on any one occasion:
Provided that such member shall not exercise the powers conferred on the chairman of a standing committee by paragraph (3) of Standing Order No. 89 (Procedure in standing committees).

Nomination of standing committees     86. - (1) Save in the case of-

(a) the Scottish Grand Committee,

(b) the Welsh Grand Committee,

(c) a standing committee for the consideration of a bill on report, and

(d) a European Standing Committee,

the Committee of Selection shall nominate not fewer than sixteen nor more than fifty Members to serve on each standing committee for the consideration of each bill allocated or referred to it, or for the consideration of instruments (whether or not in draft) referred to it.

    (2) In nominating such Members the Committee of Selection shall have regard to the qualifications of those Members nominated and to the composition of the House, and shall have power to discharge Members from time to time and appoint others in substitution for those discharged:
Provided that-

(i) for the consideration of any public bill certified by the Speaker as relating exclusively to Scotland or of a public bill (or part of a public bill) ordered to be considered by a Scottish standing committee, the committee shall be so constituted as to include not fewer than sixteen Members representing Scottish constituencies;

(ii) for the consideration of any public bill relating exclusively to Wales, the committee shall be so constituted as to include all Members sitting for constituencies in Wales.

Attendance of law officers and ministers in standing committees     87. - (1) Mr. Attorney General, the Lord Advocate, Mr. Solicitor General and Mr. Solicitor General for Scotland, or any of them, being Members of the House, though not members of a standing committee, may take part in the deliberations of the committee, but shall not vote or make any motion or move any amendment other than a motion in the Scottish Grand Committee under Standing Order No. 93 (Scottish Grand Committee (composition and business)) or a motion in the Welsh Grand Committee under Standing Order No. 102 (Welsh Grand Committee (composition and business)) or a motion in the Northern Ireland Grand Committee under Standing Order No. 109 (Northern Ireland Grand Committee (composition and business)) or a motion or an amendment in a European Standing Committee under Standing Order No. 119 (European Standing Committees) or be counted in the quorum.

    (2) In a standing committee which is to consider a bill brought in upon a ways and means resolution any Minister of the Crown, being a Member of the House, though not a member of the standing committee, may take part in the deliberations of the committee, but shall not vote or make any motion or move any amendment or be counted in the quorum.

Standing Orders of the House of Commons - Public Business 1997- continued
Public Bills - continued
back to previous text

Debate on clause or schedule standing part	68. If, during the consideration of a bill in a committee of the whole House, the chairman is of opinion that the principle of a clause or schedule and any matters arising thereon have been adequately discussed in the course of debate on the amendments proposed thereto, he may, after the last amendment to be selected has been disposed of, state that he is of this opinion and shall then forthwith put the question "That the clause (or, the clause, as amended) stand part of the bill" or "That this schedule (or this schedule, as amended) be the schedule to the bill", as the case may be.
Procedure on offer of new clause	69. When a Member has brought up a clause or schedule in committee on a bill or on consideration of a bill on report, it shall be read the first time without any question being put.
When Chairman leaves chair without question put	70. When the chairman of a committee of the whole House has been ordered to make a report to the House, he shall leave the chair without putting any question. Every such report shall be brought up without any question being put.
Report of bill from committee of whole House	71. At the close of the proceedings of a committee of the whole House on a bill the chairman shall report the bill forthwith to the House, and when amendments shall have been made thereto, a day shall be appointed for taking the bill, as amended, into consideration, unless the House shall order it to be taken into consideration forthwith.
Consideration of bill as amended in committee of whole House	72. When the order of the day for the consideration of a bill, as amended in a committee of the whole House, has been read, the House shall proceed to consider the same without question put, unless the Member in charge thereof nominates a future day for its consideration or a motion shall be made to re-commit the bill in whole or in part.
Report of bills committed to standing committees	73. Save as provided in Standing Order No. 92 (Consideration on report of certain bills by a standing committee) every bill committed to and reported from a standing committee, whether amended or not, shall be considered on report by the House, and the provisions of Standing Order No. 72 (Consideration of bill as amended in committee of whole House) shall apply to such consideration.
Re-committal of bill	74. If a motion to re-commit a bill as a whole be made, the Speaker shall permit a brief explanatory statement of the reasons for such re-committal from the Member who makes, and a brief statement from a Member who opposes, any such motion, and shall then put the question thereon.
Amendments on report	75. Upon the consideration of a bill on report no amendment which could not have been proposed in committee without an instruction from the House may be proposed unless it has been authorised by a resolution of the House.
Debate on bill reported from standing committee	76. When a bill has been committed to a standing committee, or has been so committed in respect of some of its provisions, then, on consideration on report of the bill or such of its provisions as were so committed, the rule against speaking more than once shall not apply to the Member in charge of the bill or to the mover of any amendment or new clause or schedule in respect of that amendment or clause or schedule.
Third reading	77. No amendments, not being merely verbal, shall be made to any bill on the third reading.
Lords amendments	78. - (1) Lords amendments to public bills shall be appointed to be considered on a future day, unless the House shall order them to be considered forthwith.
	(2) When the order of the day for the consideration of Lords amendments to a public bill has been read, the House shall proceed to consider the same without question put, unless the Member in charge thereof nominates a future day for their consideration.
	(3) If the Speaker is satisfied that a Lords amendment imposes a charge upon the public revenue such as is required to be authorised by resolution of the House under Standing Order No. 49 (Certain proceedings relating to public money) and that such charge has not been so authorised, on reaching that amendment, the Speaker shall declare that she is so satisfied and the amendment shall be deemed to have been disagreed to and shall be so recorded in the Journal.
Pecuniary penalties	79. With respect to any bill brought to this House from the House of Lords, or returned by the House of Lords to this House, with amendments, whereby any pecuniary penalty, forfeiture, or fee shall be authorised, imposed, appropriated, regulated, varied, or extinguished, this House will not insist on its ancient and undoubted privileges in the following cases:
	(1) when the object of such pecuniary penalty or forfeiture is to secure the execution of the Act, or the punishment or prevention of offences;
	(2) where such fees are imposed in respect of benefit taken or service rendered under the Act, and in order to the execution of the Act, and are not made payable into the Consolidated Fund, or in aid of the public revenue, and do not form the ground of public accounting by the parties receiving the same, either in respect of deficit or surplus;
	(3) when such bill shall be a private bill for a local or personal Act.
Privilege (bills brought from the Lords)	80. The House may proceed with any public bill brought from the Lords except a bill of aids and supplies, provided that-
	(a) it is so framed that no charge upon the people or upon public funds, unless it be such a charge as is defined in Standing Order No. 79 (Pecuniary penalties), is imposed or altered; and
	(b) in the case of a bill which, if it were not so framed, would have as its main object the imposition or alteration of such a charge, a Minister of the Crown has informed the Clerk at the Table of his intention to take charge of it.
Temporary laws	81. The precise duration of every temporary law or enactment shall be expressed in a distinct clause or subsection of the bill.
Business Committee	82. There shall be a committee, to be called the Business Committee, consisting of the Chairman of Ways and Means, who shall be chairman of the committee, and not more than eight other Members to be nominated by the Speaker in respect of each bill to which this order applies. The quorum of the committee shall be four. The committee-
	(a) shall, in the case of any bill in respect of which an order has been made by the House, allotting a specified number of days or portions of days to the consideration of the bill in committee of the whole House or on report, divide the bill into such parts as it may see fit and allot to each part so many days or portions of a day so allotted as it may consider appropriate; and
	(b) shall report its resolution (or resolutions) to the House, and on a motion being made for the consideration of such report the question thereon shall be put forthwith and on consideration of the said report the question "That this House doth agree with the committee in its resolution (or resolutions)" shall be put forthwith and, if that question be agreed to, any such resolution shall have effect as if it were an order of the House. Proceedings in pursuance of this sub-paragraph, though opposed, may be decided after the expiration of the time for opposed business.
Allocation of time to bills	83. If a motion be made by a Minister of the Crown providing for an allocation of time to any proceedings on a bill the Speaker shall, not more than three hours after the commencement of the proceedings on such a motion, put any question necessary to dispose of those proceedings.
	Standing Committees
Constitution of standing committees	84. - (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of Standing Order No. 119 (European Standing Committees), as many standing committees shall be appointed as may be necessary for the consideration of bills or other business committed or referred to a standing committee.
	(2) Subject to the provisions of Standing Order No. 101 (Scottish Standing Committees), the bills committed and instruments (whether or not in draft) referred to a standing committee shall be distributed among the committees by the Speaker.
	(3) In all but one of the standing committees to which bills other than bills provided for in Standing Order No. 101 (Scottish Standing Committees) are committed or referred government bills shall have precedence.
	(4) Government bills allocated to a particular standing committee shall be considered in whatever order Her Majesty's Ministers may decide.
Chairmen of standing committees	85. - (1) The chairman or chairmen of each standing committee shall be appointed by the Speaker from the Chairmen's Panel.
	(2) The Speaker may change the chairmen so appointed from time to time.
	(3) When more than one chairman is appointed to a standing committee any of the chairmen so appointed may exercise the powers conferred by paragraph (3) of Standing Order No. 89 (Procedure in standing committees).
	(4) The Chairmen's Panel, of which three shall be a quorum, shall have power to consider matters of procedure relating to standing committees and to report its opinion thereupon to the House from time to time.
	(5) Any member of a standing committee may, at the request of the chairman of the committee, act as chairman for not more than a quarter of an hour on any one occasion: Provided that such member shall not exercise the powers conferred on the chairman of a standing committee by paragraph (3) of Standing Order No. 89 (Procedure in standing committees).
Nomination of standing committees	86. - (1) Save in the case of-
	(a) the Scottish Grand Committee,
	(b) the Welsh Grand Committee,
	(c) a standing committee for the consideration of a bill on report, and
	(d) a European Standing Committee,
	the Committee of Selection shall nominate not fewer than sixteen nor more than fifty Members to serve on each standing committee for the consideration of each bill allocated or referred to it, or for the consideration of instruments (whether or not in draft) referred to it.
	(2) In nominating such Members the Committee of Selection shall have regard to the qualifications of those Members nominated and to the composition of the House, and shall have power to discharge Members from time to time and appoint others in substitution for those discharged: Provided that-
	(i) for the consideration of any public bill certified by the Speaker as relating exclusively to Scotland or of a public bill (or part of a public bill) ordered to be considered by a Scottish standing committee, the committee shall be so constituted as to include not fewer than sixteen Members representing Scottish constituencies;
	(ii) for the consideration of any public bill relating exclusively to Wales, the committee shall be so constituted as to include all Members sitting for constituencies in Wales.
Attendance of law officers and ministers in standing committees	87. - (1) Mr. Attorney General, the Lord Advocate, Mr. Solicitor General and Mr. Solicitor General for Scotland, or any of them, being Members of the House, though not members of a standing committee, may take part in the deliberations of the committee, but shall not vote or make any motion or move any amendment other than a motion in the Scottish Grand Committee under Standing Order No. 93 (Scottish Grand Committee (composition and business)) or a motion in the Welsh Grand Committee under Standing Order No. 102 (Welsh Grand Committee (composition and business)) or a motion in the Northern Ireland Grand Committee under Standing Order No. 109 (Northern Ireland Grand Committee (composition and business)) or a motion or an amendment in a European Standing Committee under Standing Order No. 119 (European Standing Committees) or be counted in the quorum.
	(2) In a standing committee which is to consider a bill brought in upon a ways and means resolution any Minister of the Crown, being a Member of the House, though not a member of the standing committee, may take part in the deliberations of the committee, but shall not vote or make any motion or move any amendment or be counted in the quorum.