Reading Amendments

To follow the debate on the European Union (Notice of Withdrawal) Bill (or ANY bill) in the House of Lords, you need to equip yourself with the version of the bill that the Lords will be using.

A quick word of caution here - a Bill goes through a number of printings; after any amendments have been made - and when it comes up to the Lords from the Commons. Helpfully, on the website - the 'latest bill' is always highlighted.

Amendments, if passed, would amend the text of that version of the bill. So you need to look at the wording of the amendment, to see what it would do.

Amendments tabled in the House of Lords [Note for my American readers - tabled in the UK Parliament is the OPPOSITE of 'tabling' in Congress. Tabling in the USA is the term used for killing off a bill or an amendment (by throwing it under the table). In the UK tabling means putting on the table. So in the UK "I am tabling an amendment means - "I am putting an amendment down for discussion"] are numbered then printed. You can access the amendments here. These amendment papers are the second (set) of documents needed.

 Some amendments would ADD words to a bill - as for example Lord Lea of Crondall's Amendment to Clause 1 -

Clause 1
LORD LEA OF CRONDALL
Page 1, line 3, at end insert “while retaining membership of the European Economic Area (EEA)” 

On the pdf version of the bill, you'll see the page number at the top.

Page 1, as you can see is numbered, but is not the first page of the whole document.

Not every line is numbered, in fact only lines 5, 10, 15 etc have the number printed on them. So a bit of basic maths is needed to find line 3. (Go to line 5 - go up two lines - and you have line 3)

so if Lord Lea's amendment was passed the bill would read

(1) The Prime Minister may notify, under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the EU while retaining membership of the European Economic Area (EEA)

 

A more complex amendment - which still is a simple "insert" is

LORD KERSLAKE 
Page 1, line 3, at end insert—
“( ) No agreement with the European Union consequent on the use of the power under subsection (1) may be ratified unless a full report has been produced by Her Majesty's Government on the implications of that agreement for—
(a) the future of the United Kingdom, and
(b) the economic, social and political relations of the United Kingdom with the Republic of Ireland;
and each House of Parliament has had an opportunity to consider this report.”

The effect of this amendment passing (as well as adding these words) would require that a specific report MUST be produced by the Government before any negotiated deal could be ratified.

A whole new clause could be added - (if the bill becomes an act it would be known as a 'section'), as with this amendment

After Clause 1
BARONESS HAYTER OF KENTISH TOWN LORD LENNIE
LORD HANNAY OF CHISWICK
Insert the following new Clause—
“Parliamentary approval for agreements with the European Union
(1) No Minister of the Crown may conclude an agreement with any institution of the European Union regarding the withdrawal of the United Kingdom under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union until—
(a) the Government has laid a copy of the final draft of the agreement before each House of Parliament, and
(b) each House of Parliament has passed a resolution approving the final draft of the agreement.
(2) The requirements under paragraphs (a) and (b) must also be met where a Minister of the Crown proposes to conclude any separate agreement with the European Union pertaining to the future political and economic relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

(3) In the case of a proposed agreement setting out the arrangements for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the resolution under subsection (1) must have been passed by each House of Parliament before the proposed terms are agreed with the Commission, with a view to their approval by the European Parliament.”

All of the current amendments seek to add to the provisions in the bill. (It is such a short bill, that removing words or clauses - at this stage is near impossible. But should any of amendments be passed, we would expect amendments at later stages, particularly at "Ping-pong" stage - to take words or clauses out.)

"Leave out" is the key phrase to remove words in a clause, or the clause itself - as in

0. Page 2, line 10, leave out subsection (1)
   
   
   
   Page 2, line 10, leave out “, or the Director (or his deputy),”
   
   
   

   Page 2, leave out line 10
   

"Leave out..... and insert" is the wording to remove and replace by new wording.

Page 1, line 10, leave out “may” and insert “shall” 

The effect of that would be to turn a power to do something into a duty!

To know more - go to the very useful guide to amendment style - which is available at -
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/publications-records/House-of-Lords-Publications/Rules-guides-for-business/Guidance-members-HL/Guide-to-HL-Amendment-Style.pdf

***  All these points relate to amending the Act itself. That will start at the Committee Stage. But first, 2nd Reading must be held. That will be on the MOTION "that the bill be now read a second time." Such a motion can be amended or rejected. (Both are very rare).

Legislative Explorer

An article in PS (one of the APSA [American Political Science Association] journals) - "Legislative Explorer: Data-Driven Discovery of Lawmaking" - drew my attention to this interesting and useful application. At first sight it gives a visual representation of how bills make their way (or don't make progress) through Congress. The path of every bill is shown from introduction to its eventual end - which, in a very few cases, involves becoming law. It's a superb visualisation - and as an educator - I really appreciate how representing things in different ways can aid understanding (and assist long-term retention).

But upon a closer look this app has even more uses. It contains data from the 93rd Congress to the present day - about specific Bills (and their passage); and members of Congress. I was playing with it at the weekend and was able to track the movement in ideological position of certain legislators over their career - both in terms of their move on the liberal/conservative scale - and their relative position within each Congress.

The visual contrast between the spread of ideological position within and between parties was also evident from the graphics.

There are also some very useful statistics on the success rates of bills, and you can see how general progress develops of the life of each Congress.

I can see that I'll be using this tool a lot!

You can visit it at http://www.legex.org/app.html

The Sausage Machine

Otto von Bismarck is credited with the comment - ""Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made."

Perhaps that comment is understandable - making laws can be messy. As different views are expressed, it can look like endless argument. That is one of the reasons that many voters are put off politics. But it is necessary. In a democracy laws should not be handed down from on high. Members of legislatures are there to express the (very often) quite differing views of citizens. As a consumer I want my rights protected; "sharp" practices outlawed; dangerous products prohibited; and redress if my person or my property is injured by someone else's actions. A business wants "red tape" to be minimised or abolished. A right for me may limit your rights.

These things need to be discussed. Experience and "common sense" may need to be applied to an idea that a policy maker has come up with. Different perspectives need to be applied so that the danger of the "law of unintended consequences" is lessened.

The legislative process may be messy - it may be long - but it is vital. Citizens need to know how law is made - so that they can - when they need to - become involved in the process. They can ask their representative to support or oppose a particular measure - or advise of the consequences which the legislator may not realise. Often citizens only find out about a measure when it is too late to do anything. They might not know how or when to make their views.

Our democracy is enhanced when citizens know how it works.

(There are some excellent online materials available -

Parliament has a webpage dedicated to explaining the UK's legislative process - http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/.

The classic, "How Our Laws Are Made" for the US Congress is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-110hdoc49/pdf/CDOC-110hdoc49.pdf.

There is an informative video about the EU legislative process at http://youtu.be/2OQuvbOAb0o.

The French legislative process is explained on the Assemblee nationale (English) website.)

How EU Law is made

An informative video on the EU legislative video. Please feel free to share this post (and the blog itself) with friends; colleagues; students....)

The Making of European Law

These links demonstrate the process that a legislative proposal goes through (under the ‘CoDecision Procedure’) on its way to becoming an EU Law. It is a current proposal – for a Directive.
 
Title: Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime in the European Union

Legal Basis: TFUE/art 82 par 2, art 83 par 1 (All proposed legislation must show the legal authority in Primary Legislation for the proposed law) 

Explanatory Statement (which is from the European Parliament’s Report) 

The European Parliament has called on the Commission to propose new legislation on confiscation for a long time. By its own initiative report adopted in October 2011, the Parliament stressed in particular the need for rules on the effective use of extended and non- conviction based confiscation, rules allowing for the confiscation of assets transferred to third parties.  In addition, the Parliament encouraged the introduction of instruments in national legal systems which, under criminal, civil or fiscal law, as appropriate, mitigate the burden of proof concerning the origin of assets held by a person accused of an offence related to organised crime.
 
The proposal for a Directive on the freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime in the European Union was adopted by the European Commission on 12 March 2012. This Directive lays down the minimum rules for Member States with respect to freezing and confiscation of criminal assets through direct confiscation, value confiscation, extended confiscation, non- conviction based confiscation and third party confiscation.   The Rapporteur generally supports the Commission proposal. The adoption of those minimum rules will harmonise the Member States’ freezing and confiscation regimes facilitating mutual trust and effective cross-border cooperation. It will also constitute a step towards strengthening the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders which is an important aspect of the fight against cross-border serious and organized crime in the EU.   With this report the Rapporteur intends to reinforce the provisions of non-conviction based confiscation and extended confiscation so as to make them more efficient in order to actually serve the purpose of preventing the use of proceeds of crime for committing future crimes or their reinvestment into licit activities.
   
Concerning the non-conviction based confiscation the Rapporteur notes that this system which was first used in the USA now appears to be more and more globally spread. Jurisdictions which have introduced non-conviction based confiscation legislation include: Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom, Albania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Australia, South Africa, the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario. At European level the existent systems of non- conviction based confiscation have been debated both in front of national Courts as well as the European Court of Human Rights and were considered compatible with national constitutional requirements and those of the European Court, provided that they are adopted by a judicial authority, with full respect of the rights of the defence and of bona fide third parties, and that they can be challenged before a court. These basic safeguards have also been included in the present Directive.
   
The provisions on extended confiscation were strengthened so that they provide for a single minimum standard which does not fall below the threshold set by Framework Decision 2005/212/JHA. 

The Original Proposal http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0085:FIN:EN:PDF
p2-5  Context
p6  Consultations
p7-8  Impact assessment
p8-10  Legal Basis; Subsidiarity; Proportionality & Respect for Human Rights
p10-13  Commentary
p13-24  Text of Proposed Directive

The Decision making and consultation process (PreLex is a website which allows anyone to monitor the progress of all proposed legislation) http://ec.europa.eu/prelex/detail_dossier_real.cfm?CL=en&DosID=201408 

European Parliament Report – [From its Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs] (sets out the proposed resolution for the Parliament to adopt – p5; and the amendments it proposes – with the original text next to it) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A7- 2013-0178+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN

Why can't Parliament get it right?

A new report has been published by the Political & Constitutional Reform Committee of the House of Commons. It begins...

"There has been repeated criticism in recent years, from a variety of sources, about both the quantity and quality of legislation. This is despite changes to the legislative process in the House of Commons (Public Bill Committees), initiatives to consult on some legislative provisions in draft before their formal introduction (pre-legislative scrutiny) and the beginnings of a process for evaluating the effectiveness of legislation following its enactment (post-legislative scrutiny). It has also been despite the existence of a Cabinet Committee, the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, charged with ensuring that bills are well-prepared before they are presented to Parliament.

Against this backdrop of criticism the Liaison Committee asked us to lead on this issue. We began our inquiry by asking whether there is a need for improved legislative standards and if so, what changes to existing processes in Parliament or Government would contribute to them. We wanted to know whether a new mechanism designed to ensure improved legislative standards (such as a Legislative Standards Committee) should be introduced, and whether there is a case for differentiating between different types of legislation.

Five key recommendations
 The Committee concludes... We consider that there is a need for the quality of legislation to be improved. We have made a number of recommendations, as well as suggesting areas for further consideration by Parliament, designed to achieve this end. The most significant of these are: (Paragraph 149)  [1] that there should be a set of standards for good quality legislation agreed between Parliament and the Government; we have provided our own draft Code of Legislative Standards to start this process; (Paragraph 149.a) [2] that a Joint Legislative Standards Committee to oversee application and effectiveness of the Code should be created; (Paragraph 149.b) [3] that a week should elapse between the conclusion of Public Bill Committee evidence sessions and the start of line by line scrutiny, to allow Members enough time to consider the evidence they have heard and read, and for amendments to be drafted and selected for debate; (Paragraph 149.c) [4] that a test for identifying constitutional legislation should be agreed between Parliament and the Government; (Paragraph 149.d) [5] that for each bill presented to Parliament which has not previously been published in draft, the Government should provide an accompanying statement setting out why the bill was not published in draft and therefore not available for pre-legislative scrutiny. (Paragraph 149.e) The Report entitled "Ensuring standards in the quality of legislation" can be downloaded in pdf format here.

Quality Law

Today the Political & Constitutional Reform Committee of the House of Commons is holding a hearing into “Ensuring standards in the quality of legislation”. The witnesses will be

Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP – a Labour MP, who has extensive experience of being in Government and Parliament.

Lord Norton of Louth – THE parliamentary expert, both as an academic, he is Professor of Government at Hull University (and my Ph.D. Supervisor), and a former Chair of the Lords Select Committee on the
Constitution.

Lord Maclennan of Rogart – A former Labour Minister (in the 1974-9 Government), who was a founder of the SDP. He was 35 years in the Commons, and has spent 11 years in the Lords – and is the current LibDem spokesman on the Cabinet Office.

The session can be watched live at From 10.00am [UK]
Go to: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=11413

The New Football Season

The 2012 American Football season kicks off today with Dallas Cowboys playing the New York Giants – as many readers of this blog will know (and the title might give a clue), I’m a Washington Redskins fan. Their first game is on Sunday in New Orleans.

I’m a subscriber to NFL’s Game Pass – so most Sunday evenings I’ll be watching like on my Desktop computer – or more likely these days – on my iPad. Should I be otherwise engaged (for example during the Sunday evening of the Labour Party Conference, I can watch later. Being the total nerd that I am, I will have my recently purchased “2012 Official NFL Record and Fact Book” at my side.

I also have on my iPhone and iPad the “NFL ’12” and “Official Redskins Feedr” Apps – and of course – as is my practice – I read the sports news in the Washington Post (also through an iPad App.

What is it that I find interesting about this game? It was the references to American Football in political speeches which first attracted my interest (Nixon and Reagan often made references!), but I enjoy the strategic aspects of the game – (hopefully) marching up the field using a series of carefully planned moves – each team trying to outsmart the other. In many ways so much like politics. I even keep my own “playbook” – plays that have been used in Parliament, and particularly Congress (where the scope for innovative procedural tactics is much greater) in order to advance or halt legislative progress.



Are you an American Football fan? Which team do you support? If you'd like to tell fellow readers of Washminster what attracts you to the game - or why you support a particular team - drop me a short piece on jdavidmorgan@washminster.com - which I can then repost here.

Committee Stage

The next stage in the process of a bill is the Committee Stage...



LASPO Bill - Committee Stage, House of Commons

Copy of Bill (as used at Committee Stage, HoC): http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2010-2012/0205/2012205.pdf
Amendments proposed: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2010-2012/0205/amend/pbc2051907m.31-37.html

Booklet from the Scrutiny Unit about giving evidence to a PBC - available here.

The Legislative Process - resumed

Tomorrow the series on the legislative process will resume - with a look at the Committee Stage. The series looks at the steps between someone having an idea for a new law to its enactment as a new Statute. If you haven't seen any of the previous videos (or want to 'revise' before moving on) they can be viewed by following the hyperlinks below -

Introduction to the series
Getting on the Agenda
Before Introduction
First Reading
Second Reading

Practice and procedure in the House of Commons is described. Bills can also start their passage in the House of Lords, and the key differences will be discussed in a later video.

Update on LASPO

This blog has been following the Legal Aid; Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Bill in the House of Lords. The committee stage will begin just before the House breaks for the Christmas Recess. As amendments are submitted for consideration (and unlike the House of Commons where the selection of amendments for debate is a matter for the Speaker or the Chairman presiding over that Public Bill Committee - all amendments can be discussed - though by mutual consent they may be put together in group of similar amendments and debated together) - they are listed under Amendment papers (here).

It's worth reading through some of the amendments. In order to see how they make changes - you will need to download a copy of the Bill (download here)

Amendments make reference to clauses - these are the main building blocks of a bill (and become "Sections" when the bill becames an Act of Parliament.

For example clause 27 is preceded by

27 Position of providers of services



On the right hand side of the page are numbers (5, 10, 15....). These are the line numbers.

So to find The following amendment -

Clause 11

LORD BACH
LORD BEECHAM
Page 8, line 18, leave out “may” and insert “must”

Go to page 8 of the bill - and on line 18 (which is in clause 11) the word currently in the bill is "may", Lord Bach & Lord Beecham which to delete the word may (which gives a discretionary power) and replace it by "must" (an obligation)

Second Reading

Further information and a video of a second reading can be found here.

First Reading

The series on how law is made in the UK moves to the introduction of a Bill to the House of Commons.



Bills can also start their parliamentary progress in the House of Lords. That procedure will be looked at in a later video.

Previous videos in the series are

Introduction to the series
Getting on the Agenda
Before Introduction

A video on 1st Reading can be accessed here.

Before Introduction

The third video in the series "How Law is made in the UK". Excellent companions to this video include

Section A & Section B of The Cabinet Office's "Guide to Making Legislation"
The Hansard Society's "Law in the Making" - which sets out some case studies of legislation. (available from the Hansard Society here
Green Papers explained: http://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/green-papers/
White Papers explained: http://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/white-paper/

Laying Down the Law

Daniel Greenberg, a Parliamentary Counsel (1991-2010), has written - and Sweet & Maxwell have published "Laying Down the Law" - a very useful detailed guide to how legislation is put together in practice. It would make a useful companion to my current series on How Law is Made in the UK, should you wish to have a much more detailed text.

Getting on the Agenda

The second video which forms part of the series on How Law is Made in the UK....



The three points that need to be made to get any idea "on the agenda" are -

1 It is a good idea
2 It can best (only?) be realised by legislation (as opposed to a change in policy or practice not requiring a statute)
3 The matter is so important that it needs to be given high priority

How Law is Made - Introduction

As promised recently, I begin a new series on how law is made in the UK. This video considers some important principles to keep in mind, and looks briefly at "Sources of Law".



Standing Order 14 (House of Commons: Public Business) reads (full text of Standing Orders available here)

(1) Save as provided in this order, government business shall have precedence at every sitting.

(2) Twenty days shall be allotted in each session for proceedings on opposition business, seventeen of which shall be at the disposal of the Leader of the Opposition and three of which shall be at the disposal of the leader of the second largest opposition party; and matters selected on those days shall have precedence over government business ......
(3A) Thirty-five days or its equivalent shall be allotted in each session for proceedings in the House and in Westminster Hall on backbench business of which at least twenty-seven shall be allotted for proceedings in the House; the business determined by the Backbench Business Committee shall have precedence over government business ......

(4) Private Members’ bills shall have precedence over government business on thirteen Fridays in each session to be appointed by the House.

(5) On and after the eighth Friday on which private Members’ bills have precedence, such bills shall be arranged on the order paper in the following order— consideration of Lords amendments, third readings,
consideration of reports not already entered upon, adjourned proceedings on consideration, bills in
progress in committee, bills appointed for committee, and second readings.

(6) The ballot for private Members’ bills shall be held on the second Thursday on which the House shall sit during the session under arrangements to be made by the Speaker, and each bill shall be presented by the Member who has given notice of presentation or by another Member named by him in writing to the Clerks at the Table, at the commencement of public business on the fifth Wednesday on which the House shall sit during the session.

(7) Until after the fifth Wednesday on which the House shall sit during the session, no private Member shall—
(a) give notice of a motion for leave to bring in a bill under Standing Order No. 23 (Motions for leave to
bring in bills and nomination of select committees at commencement of public business); or
(b) give notice for presenting a bill under Standing Order No. 57 (Presentation and first reading); or
(c) inform the Clerks at the Table of his intention to take charge of a bill which has been brought from the Lords......

The Legislative Process in the House of Commons

Over the next few weeks I will be writing a series of posts about procedure and practice relating to the passage of Bills through the House of Commons. This will be in more depth than the overviews that can normally be found - for example (and I'd recommend this to anyone wanting a useful overview of the UK legislative process) - the guide on the Parliamentary website.

One criticism that is often made of the Commons process, is that there is insufficient scrutiny. In this series I will highlight opportunities for scrutiny. Most of all - I would encourage you to look at bills - and contact your Member of Parliament if you identify concerns. Better legislation is in OUR interests.

Magna Carta Day

Yesterday Eleanor Laing was given leave to introduce a Bill which would make 15th June 2015 a national holiday. It would celebrate the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta.

The procedure used was that of a "ten minute rule bill". This is covered by Standing Order 23. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays a member is given 10 minutes (the SO actually speaks of "the Speaker, after permitting, if he thinks fit, a brief explanatory statement...) to give reasons why the House should grant leave to bring in the bill. Actually leave is not needed to bring in a bill - SO 57 says "A member may, after notice, present a bill without previously obtaining leave from the House to bring in the same". This happens very early in the day's business - and can pass almost unnoticed - and that is the point about the 10 minute rule bill procedure. It is rarely used for serious legislating - instead it gives the member an opportunity for "prime time" coverage of the issue he or she wishes to raise. It occurs straight after Questions - and of course on a Wednesday, straight after PMQs (Prime Minister' Question Time). Many 10 minute rule bills get national publicity earlier in the day.

Ms Laing's purpose was to draw attention to the campaign for a holiday to celebrate the signing of the Magna Carta. I have to say that I can not be neutral on this issue. I strongly believe that in the UK we should give more attention to this important event and document in British history. I was the co-founder of a Facebook group as far back as 2007 - "Magna Carta Day!" - do please join!

This blog has frequently dealt with the Magna Carta and its significance
May 2011
June 2010
June 2007
Threats to Liberty
The Rule of Law

The request for leave and the subsequent First Reading can be watched at 01:01:30 onwards (you will need to move the slider to that point (although there's quite a bit to see beforehand - including a message from the Queen; PMQs; A point of order; and Introduction of a bill under the Art 57 procedure)

In Committee

Yesterday I sat in on the Public Bill Committee which is considering the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. Unlike the dramatics of Prime Minister's Question Time, this was a workmanlike session where amendments were proposed, explained, argued for - and the Minister responded to the detailed points made - indicating whether the Government would accept the amendments; oppose them on principle; or consider changing policy or the text of the bill in response to the comments made.

This was Parliament doing (what in fact it does most of the time) what we would expect of a responsible legislature - giving detailed consideration of proposed laws - deliberating.

The text of the Bill can be found here - and the Explanatory Notes here. The amendments I watched being considered can be found here. You can listen to the session I listened to via Parliament Live.