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Lords Introduction and First Reading

Procedure for Bills starting in the Commons

34.1 After Third Reading in the Commons, the House Copy of the latest print of the Bill, incorporating all amendments made in the Commons and signed by the Clerk of the House, is delivered to the House of Lords (without interrupting proceedings) with a message stating that the Commons have passed it and desire the agreement of the House of Lords.

34.2 The message is read at a convenient moment during the sitting and a Government Whip moves the First Reading immediately afterwards. This is taken without discussion. The Bill is then printed, and within 12 days of First Reading arrangements must be made for a Second Reading date. If this is not done, the Bill cannot be further proceeded with until eight days notice of Second Reading is given.

34.3 The Parliamentary Clerk will inform the Bill team of the timetable. Bills can be received by the Lords Public Bill Office when the House is not sitting, and, if it is helpful for the House, printed immediately – but must not be published until the day after introduction.

34.4 The Bill team must ensure that the Lords Minister signs the relevant European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) statement and sends it to Parliamentary Counsel, who will ensure that it appears on the face of the Bill.

Procedure for Bills starting in the Lords

34.5 A Bill starting in the Lords carries only the name of the Peer in charge; there is no provision for other backers to be listed. No formal notice of presentation is required, but Parliamentary Counsel should alert the Lords Public Bill Office as far in advance as possible. On the day fixed for First Reading, the Government Peer introduces the Bill (for which leave is not required) by reading the long title (which Parliamentary Counsel will have supplied to the Lords Public Bill Office) and moving “that the Bill be now read a first time”.

34.6 The Bill is then ordered to be printed and a day is arranged for Second Reading. First Readings are not opposed. It is usual practice for a Bill introduced in the Lords to be published on the following morning. No Bills may be introduced before the text has been handed to the Lords Public Bill Office.

34.7 Press conferences should not be held until the day after introduction, which is the earliest the Bill can be published.

Accompanying documentation

34.8 The same accompanying documentation is required for Lords starters as for Commons starters: the Explanatory Notes should be published alongside the Bill, and the Impact Assessment also needs to be published, as does the Delegated Powers Memorandum if the Bill contains such powers (which should be formally submitted to the Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee).

34.9 If the Bill has come from the Commons, the Explanatory Notes will need to be revised and republished to reflect any substantive amendments to the Bill in the Commons. Even if there were no substantive changes, the format of the Explanatory Notes will require some minor changes in all cases. All changes to the Explanatory Notes should be agreed with Parliamentary Counsel, and any substantial revisions should be approved by the Bill Minister.

34.10 If an amendment has been made in the first House which the Government has said it will seek to overturn in the second House, the revised Explanatory Notes should give a neutral description of the amendment and its effect and say the Government seeks to overturn the amendment, but should not argue its pros and cons. If a Minister has said in the House that the Government intends to seek to overturn the amendment, the Explanatory Notes may give the Hansard reference for that statement: but if no announcement has been made to that effect, the Notes are not the place for it. The Explanatory Notes will have to be cleared by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, and time should be allowed for this to happen.

34.11 The Impact Assessment and Delegated Powers Memorandum must also be revised to take account of any changes in the first House, and the Delegated Powers Memorandum should be formally submitted to the Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee.

34.12 A list of relevant older papers similar to that required in the Commons should be provided where appropriate to the Lords Printed Paper Office when the Bill arrives or starts in the Lords.

34.13 Revised editions of Acts: For Lords starters, clear, readable and up to date copies of any heavily amended legislation which is affected by the Bill and is not readily available elsewhere should be sent to the Librarian in each House and to the Clerk of Legislation in the Commons and the Clerk of Public Bills in the Lords before, or soon after, the Bill receives a Second Reading. For Commons starters, these papers should already have been circulated to all of the above.