1. Legislation
Miss Hart 2013-14

2. How much do you already know?
20 questions… 10 minutes!
1. Who is the speaker and what does he do?
2. How many MPs are there in the House of
Commons?
3. What is the difference between Parliament
and the government?
4. How often do we have general elections?
5. What would happen if the government lost
support for its policies?
6. How do we decide who is the Prime Minister?
7. What are ministers?
8. What is a proposed new law called?
9. How many members are there in the House of
Lords?
10.What are the members of the House of Lords
referred to as?
11.Name the three different types of people in
the House of Lords
12.What does the Queen do in Parliament?
13.What is the current coalition government
majority in the House of Commons?
14.Name one bill currently before Parliament
15.What are cross benchers?
16-20. For your last five marks,
name the people below and their
jobs

3. Firstly a bit of theory…
Legal Theories
How do you create a democracy?
Separation of Powers
To have a democracy, government should be split into
three separate branches, each able to check and
balance the powers of the others.
Executive
Legislative
Judical
Challenge: Can you identify one problem with our
implementation of ‘separation of powers’?

4. Legal Theories
(2)
Supremacy & Sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty
This means that Parliament can pass what ever
laws it likes.
European Communities
Act 1972 s.2
Factortame
Equally, it also means that it can’t limit the power
of future Parliaments to make laws, or be bound
by a past one.
Parliament is the Supreme Law
Making Authority
Human Rights Act 1998
“declaration of incompatibility”
The argument is that as we elect them, and they
reflect our will, wishes and desires, they are the
ultimate law making power.
No other body should have the power to
overrule them, or set aside one of their acts.
Devolution
1998

5. Pre-legislative stages…
Where do we get laws from?
Task:
Five of them are hidden in the word search
(although each may be made up of more than
one word!)
Can you find them and explain what they
mean?
Here’s some
visual clues to
help!

6. Pre-legislative stages…
Consultation (1)
Imagine you were an MP and you were
given the chance to suggest laws which
we may want to bring in.
Got your ideas back?
Now your green papers are going to go outthen
Look over them, consider the feedback and for
decide which consultation.go ahead with.
one you will
On your green post-its,
Put your ideas for a law. Stick them on
your table’s A3 sheet.
This means that the other groups are going to be
Discard the others…
able to comment on your suggestions roleideas.
What does this tell you about the and of
Each person must come up with at least
2 ideas.
consultation?

7. Pre-legislative stages…
Consultation (2)
Now take one of your ideas as a group,
and give it a little more detail.
Who would it apply to?
What would it cover?
Why would we need it?
What sanctions would you impose if
someone broke it?
 What terms do you need to think
about and define?
 How would you enforce it?




Use the A4 White sheet to note down
your response
Those
employed to
instruct
students for
10 hours or
more a week,
receive
coffee
without 20%
tax at coffee
shops
Now your white papers are going to go out for
Got consultation.
your ideas back?
Look over them, consider the feedback and then
Thisdecide what selected put in the final law. . be
means only you will people are going to
able to respond to your Bill (pick one other group to
look at it)

8. Starter:
What are the words?
T
Green paper
Bill
Act
Statute
White paper

9. Now you have the feedback back, all that is left is to...
Write the Bill!
Long Title:
Short title:
What is the name of the bill?
What is the Bill going to cover? You
need to make sure that this covers
everything which is included in the
Bill
... If its not in the long title, it can’t
be in the Bill!
Clauses and sub-clauses:
Who it applies to, and why,
Punishments and enforcement
monitoring
conditions
any paperwork
Include at least four clauses.
Definitions:
Any words which might be unclear or
vague need to be defined as clearly
as possible
e.g. Child, house, payment etc
‘large shop’.

10. Starter:
True or False?
Parliament consists of two parts
White paper comes before a green paper
Cross benchers sit in the House of Commons
Parliament is sovereign and supreme
Our way of making laws is not completely democratic

11. Prelegislative stages: Part 2
What is a Bill?
What types of Bill are there?
Public
Private
Members
Private
Hybrid

12. Demonstrating your understanding:
Can you complete the table?
Type of Bill
Public
Private Members
Private
Hybrid
Means…
Examples

13. ... and now can you apply it?
James Little MP, and Minister for the Environment wants to introduce a law aimed at
banning all plastic bags from shops.
Queensbury School is sponsoring a Bill which will allow it to become a university.
Sarah Rowe MP wants to introduce a law which requires that all people over the age of 70
move into an old people’s home, allowing others to buy their houses.

14. How does a Bill become an Act?
You are going to watch a short
video from the lovely people at
Parliament on how a bill
becomes an Act.
Write down three things you
have learnt about the
process of legislation.
Need some more info... Use the ParliQuiz app designed for KS5 students!

15. Got the basics?
Can you put these in order?

16. Can you add the detail?
In your handouts, you have the outline of the
process. Using your notes, the brief
descriptions, understanding, textbooks
and/or magazines, complete the grid.
you
E All ofeachshould be able to clearly
define
stage.
C
A
Most of you will be able to add some
detail to your explanation.
e.g. the purpose of each stage, what happens
then, explaining key terms, answering the
margin questions etc.
Some of you will be able to comment
on the problems of speeding up the
legislative process.
Task:
Listen up!
You may not make notes during
this session.

17. Did you understand?
Answer the questions, and construct the crossword
1
2
3
Across
3. Type of Bill put forward by an individual MP (7,7)
5. Type of Bill which is put forward by the government (6)
7. Independent members of the House of Lords (12)
8. .......... reading. When the Bill is presented to Parliament (5)
11. A formal, drafted proposal for a law (4)
13. ....... paper. Part of the consultation, it sets out ideas on
changing the law (5)
14. If you belong to a party, you are said to take the party....(4)
4
5
6
7
9
8
10
11
12
13
14
Down
1. Another word for an Act of Parliament (7)
2. The name for a vote in one of Parliament's chambers (8)
3. Act limiting the Powers of the House of Lords to challenge
and delay (10,3) legislation
4. One of the elements of Parliament(7)
5. The type of committee who will scrutinise the Bill. (6,4)
6. Type of Bills which the House of Lords can not delay (5)
9. The 'policeman' of the Commons (7)
10. What happens to the Bill if the second chamber makes
changes. (4-4)
12. General name for those who sit in the House of Lords (5)

18. How will I know my notes are good enough?
Task:
You are going to write a timed response to the following question:
With reference to the source, describe the process
by which a Bill becomes an Act. [15]
A few hints before we start:
 Read the source.
 Highlight what you can use to help you answer the
question.
 Use two colours in your plan – one for the information
from the source, and one for your knowledge; the extra
detail you will add to show your learning.
 Aim for five areas you can add detail to!

19. An Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law. An Act is a Bill approved by both the House
of Commons and the House of Lords and formally agreed to by the reigning monarch (known as Royal Assent).
Once implemented, an Act is law and applies to the UK as a whole or to specific areas of the country.
5
Putting the Act into force
An Act may come into force immediately, on a specific starting date, or in stages.
bbc.co.uk
(a) Using Source A and your own knowledge, describe the process by which a Bill becomes an Act
Intro:
Main:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Plenary
:
[15]

20. So, if that’s how a Bill becomes an Act...
Is it always perfect? No!
You don’t always need all three
elements to pass an Act
It might be slow... But going too
fast can be a problem too!
Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
What do you think is meant by a ‘money bill’?
Delay it for one year only...
Rarely used
“any dog of the type known
as pit bull terrier”

21. Plenary
Demonstrate what you have learnt!
A
Discuss whether the current legislative
process is fit for purpose.
B
Explain one problem with the current two
house system.
C
Describe what is meant by the ‘ping pong
stage’
D
Give details of what happens at second
reading
E
Identify the three types of bill.