How a Bill becomes Law

• A bill is a proposal for a new law.

How a Bill Becomes Law

• The government may include the idea for a bill as a promise from their political party's campaign.
• Issues may be brought to the government's attention by others.
• A Green Paper is produced for consultation, allowing feedback on policy proposals from inside and outside of Parliament.
• Subsequently, a White Paper is published, which might contain a draft version of the bill, allowing further consultations and final changes.

Categories of Bills

• Public Bills propose changes to the law applying to the general population.
• Private Bills change the law for specific individuals or organizations, not the general public.

Types of Bills

• Government Bills are proposed by the government.
• Private Members' Bills are presented by individual MPs, though most do not become law.
• When the two Houses disagree on wording, they send proposed changes back and forth, known as "ping-pong."

Primary & Secondary Legislation

• Primary legislation refers to the main laws passed by the UK Parliament, such as an Act of Parliament.
• Secondary legislation is created by ministers under powers granted by an Act of Parliament (primary legislation).
• Once both Houses approve a bill, it is presented to the monarch for royal assent, and it becomes law.

Separation of Powers

• The UK's system of government has several branches, with the Monarchy at the center.
• The UK has an unwritten constitution detailing how power is held.
• A separation of powers is essential for a democratic government, distributing power to separate branches, generally: executive, legislative, and judicial.
• The UK has a fusion of / Separation of Powers.

Government Branches

• The Executive, made up of HM Government, proposes laws and runs the Government, representing the will of the majority.
• The Elected Legislature, the House of Commons, creates, designs, scrutinizes, and approves laws, representing the will of the people
• The Appointed Legislature, the House of Lords, scrutinizes and approves laws, acting as a check on the Executive, representing the unwritten constitution.
• The Judiciary, all UK courts, upholds the laws of the UK and represents the rule of law.
• The Crown, the Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II), represents the UK, signs bills into law (Royal Assent), and embodies ceremony and tradition.

Civil Service

• The Civil Service does the administrative work of government, managed by the Prime Minister, and works alongside government to direct policies, following a strict code of conduct.
• Around half of all civil servants directly provide services to the public.

Impartiality and Role of Civil Servants

• Civil servants serve the Crown, which means the Government of the day.
• The civil service advises on policies, assists in carrying out decisions, and manages/delivers services for which the Government is responsible.
• The duty of a civil servant is to the Minister of the Crown in charge of their department.

Civil Service Code

• The Civil Service Code is part of the terms and conditions for every civil servant.
• Introduced in 1996, updated several times since.

Four Core Values of Civil Service Code

• Integrity: Putting public service obligations above personal interests.
• Honesty: Being truthful and open.
• Objectivity: Basing advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of evidence.
• Impartiality: Acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving governments of different political persuasions equally well.

Standards of Behaviour for Civil Servants

• Civil servants cannot act based on party political considerations.
• They must not use official resources for party political purposes.
• They cannot allow personal political views to influence advice or actions, and cannot unjustly favor or discriminate against individuals or interests.
• Civil Service employment on 31 March 2018 was 430,075, a 2.5% increase from 2017.

Bicameral Parliament

• The UK Parliament has two chambers: the House of Commons (elected MPs) and the House of Lords (unelected Peers).
• Parliament is referred to as the 'legislature,' responsible for making laws.
• The UK’s bicameral legislature improves bill scrutiny, as the Lords use expertise to identify problems and suggest changes.

The House of Commons

• Made up of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the people in a general election.
• Each MP represents a constituency, and belongs to a political party.
• The party that wins the most seats forms the government.
• The leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister and appoints people to run government departments.
• The minister and civil service in that department are responsible for drafting bills.
• The Prime Minister and Cabinet is also called the Executive.
• The House of Commons hosts debates on laws and national/international issues.
• During debates, the government sits on the speaker's right, the opposition on the left.
• Ministers and shadow ministers sit on the front benches, with other MPs behind (backbench MPs)
• MPs discuss motions, and then the Speaker calls for a division (a vote).
• Each MP walks through either an 'Aye' or 'No' lobby, and the numbers are counted.
• The result is then announced to the Speaker.
• Most of Parliament's work is done in Committees, made up of MPs from different parties.

The House of Lords

• Composed of around 800 Lords (Peers), who are unelected and unpaid, except for expenses.
• Some Lords belong to political parties, while others are cross-benchers.
• Since the House of Lords Act 1999, there are now three types of Lords: Life Peers, Hereditary Peers, and Bishops/Archbishops.
• Approximately 675 Life Peers are appointed by the government.
• Approximately 90 Hereditary Peers are Lords by birth (discontinued).
• 26 Bishops and Archbishops are Lords.
• The House of Lords debates and scrutinizes Commons bills, suggests amendments, scrutinizes European legislation, and introduces new bills.
• Much of the Lords' work is done in Committees, where Lords contribute knowledge and experience. There are five types of Committees:

Types of Committees

• General
• Joint
• Grand
• Public Bill
• Select Committees.