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How to make laws?Bills announced in the Queen's Speech during the state opening of parliament will pass through monthsof thorough scrutiny before they become law.

Bills usually take months to complete their passage through parliament, although onspecial occasions the process can take days.

A bill is composed by parliamentary draughtsmen who closely liase with thegovernment department which has proposed the bill.

Prior to its first reading, there may well have been a green or white paper on the subject of the bill as thegovernment consulted interested parties.

First Reading

A dummy copy of the bill is placed on the table on the day it is to be presented and after questions thetitle of the bill is read out.

After the clerk has read out its title the minister in charge of the government department or a whip acting

on his or her behalf names a day for the second reading.

The first reading also forms the House's order to print the bill by the Stationery Office.

Second Reading

When the bill is printed it can then proceed to the first substantive stage, when its general principles aredebated by members.

The date when the bill is to be debated will be announced by the leader of the House in her statement onparliamentary business.

It is normal for there to be two weekends to come between the first and second stages of a bill.

Certain non-controversial bills are dealt with in the Second Reading Committee or, if they are exclusivelyScottish, in the Scottish Grand Committee. In practise, both types are given a full second reading soonafterwards without debate.

After a second reading, any money resolutions or ways and means resolutions are dealt with.

Committee Stage

The bill next progresses to committee stage where it is considered clause by clause.

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A committee may make amendments if they are appropriate to the subject of the bill.

The whole House may consider bills at committee stage, especially when theyare of constitutional importance, those which need to progress rapidly or whichcontain certain financial measures.

If the bill is amended by committee it is reprinted and given a new bill number.

Report Stage ,

Amendments made at the committee stage are reviewed in the report or consideration stage.

Further amendments or alteration of amendments made by committees can also be made at this stage.

If a bill has been dealt with at committee stage by the whole house it progresses straight to the thirdreading.

Third Reading

This is the final Commons stage of the bill, when the House takes an overview of the bill as finallyamended.

Lords Stage

The bill is then sent to the House of Lords which examines the bill in a similar manner to that of theCommons.

Although after a second reading the bill is usually debated in the whole of the House and amendmentscan be made at the third reading as well as at report stage.

The Commons and Lords must finally agree on the text of a bill.

If the Lords amend a Commons bill their amendments are printed and must be considered by theCommons. If the Commons disagree, they send a message explaining why and the matter returns to theLords.

If there is no agreement, the Parliament Act can be used to allow the will of the Commons to prevail andmake the bill law after a year's delay.

Royal Assent

The Crown formally assents to a bill in order for it to pass into law.

Amendments can be made in thecommittee stage

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H ow are laws made in the UK?Woodlands Junior School is in the south-east corner of England

Laws are rules that everyone in the country must obey. In a democracy, like the UK, nobody isabove the law. About one hundred new laws are passed each year.

H ow does Parliament make new laws?

A proposed new law is called a bill. Bills must be agreed by both H ouses of Parliament andreceive Royal Assent from the Queen before they can become Acts of Parliament which makeour law.

The Bill is introduced by a First Reading. This is simply an official notice that a Bill is going to be proposed and what it's about. It gives MPs time to prepare and discuss it.

Shortly afterwards comes the Second Reading. At this point the principles are considered on thefloor of the H ouse. The Bill is then sent to be looked at by small groups of MPs who examine theBill in detail.

At the Third Reading the Bill is debated and there is a vote. If the Government has a majority,the Bill is then passed to the H ouse of Lords.

Once a Bill has passed through both H ouses, it is sent to the Queen for the Royal Assent. Once ithas Royal Assent the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament. It is the law of the land.

Since 1952, The Queen has given Royal Assent to 3135 Acts of Parliament.

Interesting Fact:Up until the end of the 17th century, British monarchs were executive monarchs. Thismeans they had the right to make and pass laws. Since the beginning of the eighteenthcentury, the monarch has become a constitutional monarch.