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House of Commons
Session 2004-05
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Standing Orders of the House of Commons - Public Business 2004

CONTENTS



Dates when Standing Orders were passed and amended

Table showing sitting times


THE SPEAKER

1.  Election of the Speaker: Member presiding

1A.  Re-election of former Speaker

1B.  Election of Speaker by secret ballot


DEPUTY SPEAKER AND CHAIRMEN

2.  Deputy Chairmen

3.  Deputy Speaker

4.  Chairmen's Panel


MEMBERS (INTRODUCTION AND SEATING)

5.  Affirmation in lieu of oath

6.  Time for taking the oath

7.  Seats not to be taken before prayers

8.  Seats secured at prayers


SITTINGS OF THE HOUSE

9.  Sittings of the House

10.  Sittings in Westminster Hall

11.  Friday sittings

12.  House not to sit on certain Fridays

13.  Earlier meeting of House in certain circumstances


ARRANGEMENT AND TIMING OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUSINESS

14.  Arrangement of public business

15.  Exempted business

16.  Proceedings under an Act or on European Union documents

17.  Delegated legislation (negative procedure)

18.  Consideration of draft regulatory reform orders

19.  New writs

20.  Time for taking private business


NOTICES OF QUESTIONS, ETC.

21.  Time for taking questions

22.  Notices of questions, motions and amendments

22A.  Written statements by ministers


MOTIONS FOR BILLS AND SELECT COMMITTEES

23.  Motions for leave to bring in bills and nomination of select committees at commencement of public business


MOTIONS FOR THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE

24.  Adjournment on specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration

25.  Periodic adjournments


ORDERS OF THE DAY

26.  Orders of the day to be read without question put

27.  Order of disposing of orders of the day


RULES OF DEBATE

28.  Anticipation

29.  Powers of chair to propose question

30.  Debate on motion for the adjournment of the House

31.  Questions on amendments

32.  Selection of amendments

33.  Calling of amendments at end of debate

34.  Debate on dilatory motion

35.  Dilatory motion in abuse of rules of House

36.  Closure of debate

37.  Majority for closure or for proposal of question


DIVISIONS

38.  Procedure on divisions

39.  Voting

40.  Division unnecessarily claimed

41.  Quorum

41A.  Deferred divisions


ORDER IN THE HOUSE

42.  Irrelevance or repetition

43.  Disorderly conduct

44.  Order in debate

45.  Members suspended, &c., to withdraw from precincts

45A.  Suspension of salary of Members suspended

46.  Power of the Speaker to adjourn House or suspend sitting

47.  Short speeches


PUBLIC MONEY

48.  Recommendation from Crown required on application relating to public money

49.  Certain proceedings relating to public money

50.  Procedure upon bills whose main object is to create a charge upon the public revenue

51.  Ways and means motions

52.  Money resolutions and ways and means resolutions in connection with bills

53.  Application of public money standing orders to private bills, &c.

54.  Consideration of estimates

55.  Questions on voting of estimates, &c.

56.  Consolidated Fund Bills


PUBLIC BILLS

57.  Presentation and first reading

57A.  Bills brought from the Lords

58.  Consolidation bills

59.  Law Commission bills

60.  Tax law rewrite bills

61.  Bills which are prima facie hybrid

62.  Amendment on second or third reading

63.  Committal of bills

64.  Notices of amendments, &c., to bills

65.  Amendments in committee

66.  Committee of whole House on bill

67.  Postponement of preamble

68.  Debate on clause or schedule standing part

69.  Procedure on offer of new clause

70.  When chairman leaves chair without question put

71.  Report of bill from committee of whole House

72.  Consideration of bill as amended in committee of whole House

73.  Report of bills committed to standing committees

74.  Re­committal of bill

75.  Amendments on report

76.  Debate on bill reported from standing committee

77.  Third reading

78.  Lords amendments

79.  Pecuniary penalties

80.  Privilege (bills brought from the Lords)

80A.  Carry-over of bills

81.  Temporary laws

82.  Business Committee

83.  Allocation of time to bills


PROGRAMMING OF BILLS

83A.  Programme motions

83B.  Programming committees

83C.  Programming sub­committees

83D.  Programme orders: conclusion of proceedings in standing committee or in committee of the whole House

83E.  Programme orders: conclusion of proceedings on consideration or third reading

83F.  Programme orders: conclusion of proceedings on consideration of Lords amendments

83G.  Programme orders: conclusion of proceedings on further messages from the Lords

83H.  Programme orders: reasons committee

83I.  Programme orders: supplementary provisions


STANDING COMMITTEES

84.  Constitution of standing committees

85.  Chairmen of standing committees

86.  Nomination of standing committees

87.  Attendance of law officers and ministers in standing committees

88.  Meetings of standing committees

89.  Procedure in standing committees

90.  Second reading committees

91.  Special standing committees

92.  Consideration on report of certain bills by a standing committee

93.  Scottish Grand Committee (composition and business)

94.  Scottish Grand Committee (questions for oral answer)

95.  Scottish Grand Committee (short debates)

96.  Scottish Grand Committee (ministerial statements)

97.  Scottish Grand Committee (bills in relation to their principle)

98.  Scottish Grand Committee (delegated legislation)

99.  Scottish Grand Committee (substantive motions for the adjournment)

100.  Scottish Grand Committee (sittings)

101.  Scottish Standing Committees

102.  Welsh Grand Committee (composition and business)

103.  Welsh Grand Committee (questions for oral answer)

104.  Welsh Grand Committee (short debates)

105.  Welsh Grand Committee (ministerial statements)

106.  Welsh Grand Committee (bills)

107.  Welsh Grand Committee (matters relating exclusively to Wales)

108.  Welsh Grand Committee (sittings)

109.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (composition and business)

110.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (questions for oral answer)

111.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (short debates)

112.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (ministerial statements)

113.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (bills in relation to their principle)

114.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (legislative proposals and other matters relating exclusively to Northern Ireland)

115.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (delegated legislation)

116.  Northern Ireland Grand Committee (sittings)

117.  Standing Committee on Regional Affairs

118.  Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation

119.  European Standing Committees

120.  Business sub­committees


SELECT COMMITTEES

121.  Nomination of select committees

122.  Lists of Members serving on select committees

122A.  Term limits for chairmen of select committees

123.  Sittings of committees

124.  Quorum of select committees

125.  Select committees (admission of the public)

126.  Withdrawal of Members from meetings of select committees

127.  Withdrawal of documents before select committee

128.  Entry on minutes of proceedings of select committee

129.  Minutes of proceedings to be laid on the Table

130.  Entry on minutes of evidence of select committee

131.  Entry of questions asked

132.  Administration of oath in select committee

133.  Power to report opinion and observations

134.  Select committees (reports)

135.  Witnesses and evidence (select committees)

136.  Publication of evidence (select committees)

137.  Select committees (adjournment of the House)

137A.  Select committees: power to work with other committees

138.  Members (attendance at Lords select committees)

139.  Select Committee on Broadcasting

140.  Joint Committee on Consolidation, &c., Bills

141.  Regulatory Reform Committee

142.  Domestic Committees

143.  European Scrutiny Committee

144.  Finance and Services Committee

145.  Liaison Committee

146.  Select Committee on Public Administration

147.  Procedure Committee

148.  Committee of Public Accounts

149.  Committee on Standards and Privileges

150.  Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

151.  Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)

152.  Select committees related to government departments

152A.  Environmental Audit Committee

152B.  Human rights (joint committee)

152C.  Tax law rewrite (joint committee)


HOUSE OF COMMONS MEMBERS ESTIMATE COMMITTEE

152D.  House of Commons Members Estimate Committee


PUBLIC PETITIONS

153.  Presentation of petitions

154.  Time and manner of presenting petitions

155.  Petition as to present personal grievance

156.  Printing of petitions and of ministerial replies

157.  Petitions against imposition of tax


PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS

158.  Presentation of command papers

159.  Presentation of statutory instruments

160.  Notification in respect of certain statutory instruments


MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

161.  Duties of Serjeant at Arms with respect to the public

162.  Places to which the public are not admitted

163.  Motions to sit in private


APPENDIX: RESOLUTIONS AND TEMPORARY STANDING ORDERS

RESOLUTIONS

Matters sub judice

Scrutiny of European Business

Questions to Ministers


TEMPORARY STANDING ORDERS

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday sittings

Modernisation of the House of Commons

Liaison Committee (Membership)

Joint activities with the National Assembly for Wales

Shorter speeches


INDEX




 
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Prepared 23 November 2004