Revisions of Private Business Standing Orders
1.We propose below certain changes to the Private Business Standing Orders. Most of them are the product of the first stage of the review of hybrid bill petitioning procedure commissioned by the Chairman of Committees (Senior Deputy Speaker) in the House of Lords and the Chairman of Ways in the House of Commons in 2016. They are intended to remedy a number of issues which came to light during the passage of the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill, by modernising and clarifying some of the procedures for petitioning against a private or hybrid bill, and by enabling a select committee charged with considering petitions against a bill to group petitions. A small number of changes not arising from the review are also proposed. These are also intended to modernise procedures relating to private and hybrid bills.
2.Amendments with similar affect to those set out in this report were agreed by the House of Commons on Tuesday 7 November.
[new words are in bold; deleted words struck through]