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Public Bill Seminar Louise ButcherHouse of Commons Library Research Service3 April 2014
• What does the House of Commons Library do?• The hallmarks of our research• How do we know what’s coming up?• What do we publish throughout the legislative
process?• How can you access this information?• Commenting on our work
What does the House of Commons Library do?
Around 60 specialist researchersProvides confidential enquiry service to MPs and their staffProactively publishes range of briefingsProvides advice and support to select committees and other parliaments
The hallmarks of our research
ExpertImpartial (but politically aware)BalancedTimelyWide range of sources
How do we know what’s coming up?
• On-going contact with civil servants and policy and Bill teams• Govt. policy papers and announcements• Queen’s Speech• Weekly Business Statement• Social media• UK needs to implement European legislation/react to legal
decisions• Select Committee work (incl. pre-leg scrutiny)• General awareness of policy area, contact with lobbyists,
constituents, journal reports
Keeping up to date with a Bill: DODs Legislation
What do we publish throughout the legislative process?
We are committed to publishing a briefing for Second Reading in the House of Commons for:• every Government Bill• the top 7 Private Members’ Bills
Other briefing varies depending on nature of Bill
Example: Deregulation Bill 2013-14
• Draft Deregulation Bill presented to Parliament July 2013 and Joint Committee of both Houses appointed to consider it
• The Committee published its report in December 2013• Government published its response to the Committee’s report in
January 2014 • Deregulation Bill was introduced in the House of Commons 23
January 2014 • HC Library research paper published 30 January for Second
Reading on 3 February• Further HC Library research paper to be published for Report
stage, date TBD
How did the Library deal with this Bill?
• ‘Portmanteau Bill’ covering wide variety of policy areas• Short period between Bill being introduced and Second Reading
(7 working days)• Bill papers written by 17 separate people• Overall responsibility – Employment Specialist
– Kept abreast of pre-legislative scrutiny– Informs colleagues of key dates– Organises collation and production
What will the Library do once this Bill becomes law?
• Each specialist will take their bits of the Bill and incorporate them into other briefings, which will be constantly updated
• For example, transport aspects of the Bill include rail franchising, taxis, driving instruction, and others
• All of these new measures will be incorporated into separate notes specific to those subjects
• Bill paper becomes largely redundant• This is not always the case – for some Bills the Library paper or
briefing remains the key reference document for years to come…
Example: High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013• Announced in May 2013 Queen’s Speech• A small part of a much bigger public project with copious
background• Small technical bill, few clauses but big impact• Library did a one note ‘cradle to grave’ briefing• Began with a paragraph or two after Queen’s Speech• Updated after every Parliamentary stage• Final version published after Royal Assent, November 2013
… and now for something a bit different: High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill 2013-14 [Hybrid]
• Hybrid Bills are part-public, part-private; they are of general application but directly affect specific people
• Legislative authority and planning permission• HS2 will have at least 2 of these – this is the first one and it will
take years to go through Parliament (est. 3 yrs)• Library will have at least 4 briefings on this Bill:
– Policy background paper to 2011– Policy background note 2011-14– Procedure note on hybrid bills– Bill paper for Second Reading (end of April)
How can you access this information?
Research Papers and Standard Notes are publically available on the Parliament website: http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/
And for briefings on Bills from the ‘Bill pages’: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/
Follow us on Twitter: @commonslibraryAnd individual specialists, e.g. @LouiseBTS (transport); @PensionsBTS; @CommonsSES etc.
