Making New Law

(…) Finally, the Bill goes to the reigning monarch for the Royal Assent. All Bills must pass through both Houses before being sent for signature by the Queen, when they become Acts of Parliament and the Law of the Land.

(…) Nowadays the Royal Assent is merely a formality. In theory, the Queen can still refuse to sign the Bill, but she always signs them.

(…) The Bill then goes to one of the Houses for the report stage, when it can be amended. If passed after its third reading, it goes to the other House. Amendments made to a Bill by the House of Lords must be considered by the Commons. In case the House of Commons does not agree, the Bill is altered and sent back to the Lords for reconsideration. If disagreement between the two Houses persists, the Commons prevails. The House of Lords has no power to deal with money Bills, but it can table them.

(…) New legislation in Britain usually starts in the House of Commons which plays the major role in law-making. However the House of Lords also has the power to initiate legislation. In each House a Bill is considered in three stages, called readings. The first reading is purely formal, to introduce the bill. The second reading is usually the occasion for debate. After the second reading the bill is examined in detail by a committee.

Language focus

A Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Simple passive form.

Translate into Russian the terms in bold type.

Types of Bills

A Bill is a proposal for a new law. Most Bills 1) _____ (introduce) into Parliament by the Government; some will be implementing policies that were promised in its election manifesto and others will be responding to economic and social issues as they develop.

There are two main kinds of Bill – Public Bills and Private Bills.

Public Bills 2) _____ (intend) to affect the public as a whole and change the general law. The majority of Public Bills that become Acts of Parliament 3) _____ (introduce) by a government Minister and 4) _____ (know) as Government Bills. Private Members’ Bills 5) _____ (sponsor) by individual MPs. Government business 6) _____ usually _____ (give) priority and Private Members’ Bills can get squeezed out.

Private Bills 7) _____ only _____ (intend) to affect one particular area or organization. They 8) _____ (promote) by organizations outside the House (e.g. local authorities or companies) to obtain powers for themselves in excess of or in conflict with the general law. They should not be confused with Private Members’ Bills, which are a type of Public Bill. In practice, only a few Private Bills 9) _____ now _____ (consider) each session.

Hybrid Bills are Public Bills which may affect the specific private rights of people or bodies. They 10) _____ generally _____ (introduce) by the Government, but are fairly rare.

B Complete these sentences with the appropriate preposition from the box. Some prepositions can be used more than once.

out of on over

by for between in

1 Government Bills enable the Government to carry _____ important aspects of party policy and to meet the demands _____ a changing society.

2 Government Bills are unlikely to be rejected completely because the Government is normally able to rely _____ the support of its majority in the House of Commons, so most Government Bills succeed _____ becoming Acts of Parliament.

3 The Bills concerning policy are often a subject _____ fierce arguments _____ the Government and Opposition.

4 A debate is a formal discussion _____ a topic in the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

5. MPs take turns to speak _____ the subject concerned.

6. The debate is strictly controlled _____ a set of rules and is presided _____ by the Speaker in the House of Commons.

7. In the House of Lords, members are responsible _____ controlling the debate themselves.

8. Any Bill has to be properly written _____, or drafted.