Appendix
EXPERIENCE OF THE PILOTING OF
EXTENDED DEADLINES FOR TABLING AT REPORT STAGE: Note by the Public
Bill Office
Introduction
1. On 7 April 2014, the Procedure Committee recommended:
"… that a trial take place for the course
of the 2014-15 Session of a three-day deadline for the tabling
of amendments and new clauses/schedules at report stage of all
programmed bills."[47]
The House approved this recommendation on 8 May 2014.
Previously, the deadline for tabling amendments for Report stage
was two days - so for a Report Stage on a Monday, the deadline
for tabling was the rise of the House on the preceding Thursday.
Under the experiment, the deadline for a report stage on a Monday
is the rise of the House on the previous Wednesday.
2. The Committee's aim in bringing forward the deadline
was to provide time, after the Speaker had decided on selection
and grouping of amendments, for the Government to table a supplementary
programme motion which reflected the grouping. The Committee undertook
to review the operation of the trial towards the end of this session.
This paper seeks to inform that review. (Note - for the sake of
brevity, references to amendments should be taken also to include
new clauses and new schedules).
EVIDENCE OF IMPACT ON PROGRAMMING
3. In practice, for a number of reasons this Session
had not produced very much evidence as to the impact of the change
in the tabling deadline on programming. There has not yet been
a case where the extended deadline has had an explicit impact
on a decision by Government on whether to table a supplementary
programme motion.[48]
For this reason, and for the reasons set out in paragraphs 4 and
5 below, it would helpful if the experiment could be continued
for the duration of the 2015-16 Session, so that a more substantial
body of evidence could be obtained. The experiment could then
reviewed again.
OTHER IMPACTS
4. Although the earlier deadline has been trialled
with the specific intention of assisting with effective programming,
it has had other advantages in practice. The earlier deadline
means that Members seeking to take part in a debate have earlier
notice of all the amendments, and the earlier decision on selection
and grouping also assists Members (including Ministers and their
officials) in preparing for the debate. The Public Bill Office
has not received any complaints from Members about the earlier
cut-off for tabling amendments.
5. The change in the deadline for the report stage
of programmed bills has, however, highlighted inconsistencies
in the tabling deadlines for committee and report stages. At the
moment, the deadlines are as follows:
a) Committee of the whole House (programmed and
un-programmed bills): two days
b) Public Bill Committee (programmed and un-programmed
bills): three days
c) Report stage on programmed bills: three days
d) Report stage on un-programmed bills (in practice,
these are nearly all private Members' bills): two days.
There is some evidence, based on the experience of
the current session, in which two substantial bills were in Committee
of the whole House, that some Members, and their staff, find the
differences in practice relating to committee and report stage
confusing.
6. There might therefore be merit, if the experiment
with the extended deadline were to be prolonged, to extend it
to Committee of the whole House and to the report stage of un-programmed
Bills. This would also extend the benefits of the earlier deadline
noted above. In the case of Committee of the whole House, it would
also allow time, if desired, for a supplementary programme motion
to be tabled to reflect the Chairman of Ways and Means's selection
and grouping of amendments.
RECOMMENDATION
7. The PBO recommends that the experimental three
day deadline for amendments at report stage be extended for the
duration of the 2015-16 session, with the aim of gathering sufficient
data for the Committee to review and report on before the end
of that session. For the reasons set out in paragraphs 4-6, the
PBO also suggests that the experimental deadline be extended to
amendments in Committee of the whole House of all bills and at
report stage of un-programmed bills.
2 March 2015
47 6th Report, Programming: proposal for a trial
of new arrangements for the tabling of amendments to bills at
report stage, HC 1220, paragraph 7. Back
48
More detailed information about the number of report stages, number
of supplementary programme motions, etc, is available if required. Back
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