House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

House of Commons

Session 2006 - 07
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House of Commons Standing Orders - Public Business

(d) not more than one such notice shall stand on the paper

in the name of any one Member for a day within any

period of fifteen sitting days.

(3) No notice may be given under this order for a day on

which Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has declared his

intention of opening his Budget; but—

(i) notices proposed to be given for such day, and

(ii) notices so given for a day in respect of which such

intention is subsequently declared,

shall be treated as having been given for the first Monday on

which the House shall sit after the Budget is opened, and may

be proceeded with on that day as though it were a Tuesday or a

Wednesday.

Motions for the Adjournment of the House

Adjournment on

specific and

important matter

that should have

urgent

consideration.

24.—(1) On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday a

Member rising in his place at the commencement of public

business may propose, in an application lasting not more than

three minutes, to move the adjournment of the House for the

purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that

should have urgent consideration. If the Speaker is satisfied

that the matter is proper to be so discussed, the Member shall

either obtain the leave of the House, or, if such leave be

refused, the assent of not fewer than forty Members who shall

thereupon rise in their places to support the motion, or, if fewer

than forty Members and not fewer than ten shall thereupon rise

in their places, the House shall, on a division, upon question put

forthwith, determine whether such motion shall be made.

(2) If leave is given or the motion is so supported or the

House so determines that it shall be made the motion shall

stand over until the commencement of public business on the

following day (or, on Thursdays, until the commencement of

public business on the following Monday) when proceedings

upon it shall be interrupted after three hours, or, if the Speaker

directs that the urgency of the matter so requires, until seven

o’clock on the same day if it is a Monday or Tuesday, four

o’clock if it is a Wednesday or three o’clock if it is a Thursday.

(3) A Member intending to propose to move the adjournment

of the House under the provisions of this order shall give notice

to the Speaker by twelve o’clock on a Monday or Tuesday,

half‑past ten o’clock on a Wednesday or half‑past nine o’clock

on a Thursday, if the urgency of the matter is known at that

hour. If the urgency is not so known he shall give notice as soon

thereafter as is practicable. If the Speaker so desires he may

defer giving his decision upon whether the matter is proper to

be discussed until a named hour, when he may interrupt the

proceedings of the House for the purpose.

(4) In determining whether a matter is proper to be discussed

the Speaker shall have regard to the extent to which it concerns

the administrative responsibilities of Ministers of the Crown or

could come within the scope of ministerial action. In

determining whether a matter is urgent the Speaker shall have

regard to the probability of the matter being brought before the

House in time by other means.

(5) The Speaker shall state whether or not he is satisfied that

the matter is proper to be discussed without giving the reasons

for his decision to the House.

(6) Debate on motions made under this order may include

reference to any matter that would be in order on a motion to

take note of the subject under discussion, and a motion may be

made under this order notwithstanding the fact that a motion

for the adjournment is already before the House or is proposed

to be made.

(7) Proceedings on any business postponed at seven o’clock,

four o’clock or three o’clock under this order may be resumed

at the conclusion of proceedings on the aforesaid motion for the

adjournment of the House unless such motion is agreed to,

shall not be interrupted, except as provided in paragraph (2) of

Standing Order No. 15 (Exempted business), may be

proceeded with for such further period of time as would have

been permissible under any orders of the House at the time

when they were postponed had no such motion then been made

and shall not be subject to the provisions of any such orders

with regard to the disposal of the business until the conclusion

of the said period.

Periodic

adjournments.

25.When a motion shall have been made by a Minister of the

Crown for the adjournment of the House for a specified period

or periods, the question thereon shall be put forthwith and may

be decided at any hour, though opposed.

Orders of the Day

Orders of the day

to be read

without question

put.

26. Upon the Speaker’s direction, the Clerk shall read the

orders of the day, without any question being put.

Order of

disposing of

orders of the day.

27. The orders of the day shall be disposed of in the order in

which they stand upon the paper, the right being reserved to

Her Majesty’s Ministers of arranging government business,

whether orders of the day or notices of motion, in such order as

they think fit.

Rules of Debate

Anticipation.

28. In determining whether a discussion is out of order on the

ground of anticipation, regard shall be had by the Speaker to

the probability of the matter anticipated being brought before

the House within a reasonable time.

Powers of chair

to propose

question.

29.—(1) When a Member is in the course of making a

motion or moving an amendment at any stage of proceedings

on a bill, a Member rising in his place may claim to move,

‘That the question be now proposed’, and, unless it shall appear

to the chair that such motion is an abuse of the rules of the

House, the question, ‘That the question be now proposed’,

shall be put forthwith.

(2) This order shall apply in committee only when the

Chairman of Ways and Means or either Deputy Chairman is in

the chair.

Debate on

motion for the

adjournment of

the House.

30. Notwithstanding the practice of the House which

prohibits in a debate on a motion for the adjournment of the

House any reference to matters requiring legislative remedy,

the Speaker may permit such incidental reference to legislative

action as he may consider relevant to any matter of

administration then under debate when enforcement of the

prohibition would, in his opinion, unduly restrict the discussion

of such matter.

Questions on

amendments.

31. When an amendment has been moved, the question to be

proposed thereon shall be, ‘That the amendment be made’,

except that—

(1) when to the question ‘That a bill be now read a second

time (or the third time)’ an amendment has been moved to

leave out the word ‘now’, the question shall be, ‘That the word

“now” stand part of the question’; and

(2) on the twenty days allotted under paragraph (2) of

Standing Order No. 14 (Arrangement of public business),

(a) where to any substantive motion an amendment has

been moved by a Minister of the Crown to leave out a

word or words and insert (or add) others, the question

shall be, ‘That the original words stand part of the

question’, and, if that question be passed in the

negative, the question ‘That the proposed words be

there inserted (or added)’ shall be put forthwith;

(b) if such amendment involves leaving out all the

effective words of the motion the Speaker shall, after

the amendment has been disposed of, forthwith declare

the main question (as amended or not as the case may

be) to be agreed to.

Selection of

amendments.

32.—(1) In respect of any motion or any bill under

consideration on report or any Lords amendment to a bill, the

Speaker shall have power to select the amendments, new

clauses or new schedules to be proposed thereto.

(2) In committee of the whole House, the Chairman of Ways

and Means and either Deputy Chairman shall have the like

power to select the amendments, new clauses or new schedules

to be proposed.

(3) The Speaker, or in a committee of the whole House, the

Chairman of Ways and Means or either Deputy Chairman,

may, if he think fit, call upon any Member who has given

notice of an amendment, new clause or new schedule to give

such explanation of the object thereof as may enable him to

form a judgment upon it.

(4) For the purposes of this order, motions for instructions to

committees on bills, motions to commit or re-commit bills and

motions relating to the proceedings on bills shall be treated as

if they were amendments under paragraph (1) of this order.

(5) The powers conferred on the Speaker by this order shall

not be exercised by the Deputy Speaker save during the

consideration of the estimates.

Calling of

amendments at

end of debate.

33. If on the last day on which the motion for an address in

answer to Her Majesty’s Speech is debated in the House an

amendment proposed to the said motion shall have been

disposed of at or after the expiration of the time for opposed

business, a further amendment selected by the Speaker may

thereupon be moved, and the question thereon shall be put

forthwith.

Debate on

dilatory motion.

34. When a motion is made for the adjournment of a debate

or of the House during any debate or of further consideration of

a bill or of the Lords amendments to a bill or that the chairman

do report progress, or do leave the chair, the debate thereupon

shall be confined to the matter of such motion; and no Member,

having made any such motion, shall be entitled to make any

similar motion during the same debate.

Dilatory motion

in abuse of rules

of House.

35.—(1) If the Speaker, or the chairman, shall be of the

opinion that a dilatory motion is an abuse of the rules of the

House, he may forthwith put the question thereupon from the

chair, or he may decline to propose the question thereupon to

the House or the committee.

(2) For the purposes of this order the expression ‘dilatory

motion’ shall include a motion for the adjournment of a debate,

or of the House, during any debate, or of further consideration

of a bill or of the Lords amendments to a bill, or that the

chairman do report progress or do leave the chair.

Closure of

debate.

36.—(1) After a question has been proposed a Member rising

in his place may claim to move, ‘That the question be now put,’

and, unless it shall appear to the chair that such motion is an

abuse of the rules of the House, or an infringement of the rights

of the minority, the question ‘That the question be now put,’

shall be put forthwith.

(2) When a question ‘That the question be now put’ has been

decided in the affirmative, and the question consequent thereon

has been decided, a Member may claim that any further

question be put which may be requisite to bring to a decision

any question already proposed from the chair, and if the assent

of the chair, as aforesaid, be not withheld, any question so

claimed shall be put forthwith.

(3) This order shall apply in committee only when the

Chairman of Ways and Means or either Deputy Chairman is in

the chair.

Majority for

closure or for

proposal of

question.

37. If a division be held upon a question for the closure of

debate under Standing Order No. 36 (Closure of debate) or for

the proposal of the question under Standing Order No. 29

(Powers of chair to propose question), that question shall not be

decided in the affirmative unless it appears by the numbers

declared from the chair that not fewer than one hundred

Members voted in the majority in support of the motion.

Divisions

Procedure on

divisions.

38.—(1) If the opinion of the Speaker or the chairman as to

the decision of a question is challenged he shall direct that the

lobby be cleared.

(2) Not more than two minutes from this direction he shall

put the question again, and, if his opinion is again challenged,

he shall announce the names of tellers.

(3) After the lapse of at least eight minutes from the direction

to clear the lobby he shall direct that the doors giving access to

the division lobbies be locked.

Voting.

39.—(1) A Member may vote in a division although he did

not hear the question put.

(2) A Member is not obliged to vote.