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Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords Procedures with step depth

House of Commons and House of Lords

A step of type Business step.

Parliamentary procedure has concluded for this bicameral instrument. It is unlikely that any further scrutiny will take place, however there is a possibility that non-substantive business, such as a debate or committee consideration, could take place.

There are 11 procedures.

  1. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 30 in the Draft affirmative procedure

    Instruments subject to the draft affirmative procedure are laid in draft and require approval in Parliament before being signed into law. Instruments concerning taxation are not laid in the Lords and only require the approval of the Commons. The Commons debates the instrument in a Delegated Legislation Committee or in the Commons Chamber, where a decision on approval is made. The Lords debates the instrument in Grand Committee or in the Lords Chamber, where a decision on approval is made.

  2. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 25 in the Draft affirmative remedial order procedure

    A remedial order is an order made by a minister under the Human Rights Act 1998 to amend legislation which has been found incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Remedial orders can be used to amend both primary and secondary legislation, and they may do anything necessary to fix the incompatibility with the Convention rights. Draft remedial orders are considered by the Joint Committee on Human Rights and then need to be approved by both Houses to become law.

  3. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 31 in the Draft negative procedure

    Instruments subject to the draft negative procedure are laid in draft and do not require approval in Parliament before being signed in law. Instruments concerning taxation are not laid in the Lords. Either House may pass a motion within the objection period which prevents the instrument being signed into law. The instrument cannot be signed into law by a Minister until the end of the objection period.

  4. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 27 in the Enhanced affirmative: Investigatory Powers Act 2016 procedure

    Instruments subject to the enhanced affirmative procedure under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 are laid in draft and require approval in Parliament before being signed into law. Unlike the normal draft affirmative procedure, instruments laid under the enhanced affirmative procedure are subject to a clock period of 40 or 60 days. The Commons debates the instrument in a Delegated Legislation Committee or in the Commons Chamber, where a decision on approval is made. The Lords debates the instrument in Grand Committee or in the Lords Chamber, where a decision on approval is made.

  5. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 30 in the Legislative Reform Order procedure

    Legislative Reform Orders (LROs) are a specific type of delegated legislation that the Government can use to remove or reduce burdens that result directly or indirectly from legislation, or to promote principles of better regulation. They are made under terms set out in the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 and are subject to scrutiny by a special committee in each House.

  6. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 30 in the Made affirmative procedure

    Instruments subject to the made affirmative procedure are signed into law before being laid in Parliament but require approval from Parliament within a specified period. There are different types of made affirmative SIs: the most common type of made affirmative SI comes into force before it is approved (and can come into force before it is laid) but cannot remain in force unless it is approved by Parliament within a specified period. Another rarer type of made affirmative SI is laid after being made but cannot come into force unless the instrument is approved by Parliament. The relevant procedure and the length of the approval period is defined in the parent Act.

  7. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 31 in the Made affirmative remedial order procedure

    A remedial order is an order made by a minister under the Human Rights Act 1998 to amend legislation which has been found incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Remedial orders can be used to amend both primary and secondary legislation, and they may do anything necessary to fix the incompatibility with the Convention rights. Urgent orders may be made without advance scrutiny, but they will stop being law if they are not approved by both Houses within 120 days of being laid before Parliament.

  8. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 33 in the Made negative procedure

    Instruments subject to the made negative procedure do not require approval in Parliament before becoming law. These instruments may come into force on any date after being laid. Instruments concerning taxation are not laid in the Lords. Either House may pass a motion within the objection period which annuls the instrument and stops it having effect.

  9. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 7 in the Proposed draft remedial order procedure

    Remedial orders are a type of statutory instrument. Under the Human Rights Act 1998, courts can declare Acts of Parliament incompatible with the European convention on human rights. The Government can use remedial orders to amend Acts to remove the incompatibility. A minister formally presents (or ‘lays’) a proposal for a draft remedial order. Parliament has 60 days to consider the proposal. The Joint Committee on Human Rights (a Committee of Members of the Commons and Lords) also scrutinises the proposal. At the end of the 60-day period, the minister can lay a draft remedial order. The minister has to report details of any representations made during the 60 days and any changes made to the proposal.

  10. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 7 in the Proposed negative statutory instrument procedure

    A Minister may exercise powers under the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 or the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 to propose that instruments be subject to the proposed negative procedure. After a proposed negative instrument has been laid, each House has ten sitting days in which it may consider the instrument and agree with the proposal of the Minister, or instead recommend the instrument be subject to the draft affirmative procedure. In the Commons, the instrument is considered by the European Statutory Instruments Committee. In the Lords, the instrument is considered by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Any result of consideration does not bind a Minister, who must nevertheless make a written statement if disagreeing with a recommendation of a committee.

  11. Procedure concluded in the House of Commons and the House of Lords has step depth 6 in the Published draft under European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (Repealed) procedure

    Paragraphs 13-15 of Schedule 8 to the European (Withdrawal) Act 2018 set up a a two-stage affirmative procedure for any instruments to amend or revoke secondary legislation originally made under the European Communities Act 1972 (most Directives were implemented that way). First the statutory instrument had to be published in draft for 28 days to allow for comment. Second, when the instrument was formally laid, the Minister was required to make a "scrutiny statement" setting out the Government response to any recommendations made by a parliamentary committee on the draft, and any other representations on the instrument. The instrument laid did need not be identical to the published draft, if it made amendments as a result of that consultation. Only 20 instruments used the procedure and it was abolished by sec 10 (1) of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

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