Reform of Private Members’ Bills in the British House of Commons

 The British Procedure Committee of the British House of Commons has produced Private Members’ Bills Second Report of Session 2013?14 intended to enhancing the role of backbench Members of Parliament. The Procedure Committee which is appointed by the House of Commons to consider the practice and procedure of the House in the conduct of public business, and to make recommendations, deals in the report with the objects of reform, the process of private members’ bills, increasing transparency, and other changes.

According to the report, “the initiation, scrutiny and passage of private Members’ bills goes to the heart of the function of the House of Commons as a legislative assembly. The ability of any Member to bring forward a legislative proposition, and to have it debated, is the clearest indication that so far as legislation is concerned the House is not a mere sausage machine, churning out endless bills introduced, timetabled, amended and whipped through by the Executive. Yet over a period of many years the House and its members have allowed this important aspect of its procedures to be devalued and degraded. The weight of evidence which we have received demonstrates a cleardesire across the House for change to private Member’s bill procedures. In this report we consider the various purposes for which private Members’ bills may be used ; we look in detail at the reasons for the problems which are inherent in private Member’s bill procedures as they currently operate; and we put forward options for reform which we consider retain the best of the existing system whilst reviving the procedures as a means of securing debate, scrutiny and decision on genuinely backbench legislative propositions.” The report has a long list of recommendations. Some of these recommendations will require vote of the Members of Parliament.

Bipin Adhikari
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmproced/188/188.pdf
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmproced/188/188.pdf
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