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In the United Kingdom an Act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[1][2] As a result of the Glorious Revolution and the assertion of parliamentary sovereignty, any such Act is in theory supreme law that cannot be overturned by any body other than Parliament, although it has been recognised through the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union that Acts or parts of Acts which conflict with EU law can be disapplied.

An Act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland); however as a result of devolution the majority of Acts that are now passed by Parliament apply either to England and Wales only, or England only; whilst generally Acts only relating to constitutional and reserved matters now apply to the whole of the United Kingdom.

A draft piece of legislation is called a Bill; when this is passed by Parliament and given Royal Assent, it becomes an Act and part of statute law.


Classification of legislationEdit

Scrolls containing Acts of Parliament in the Parliamentary Archives at Victoria Tower, Palace of Westminster
The HM Government version of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom have appeared on all published copies of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 1953.
This version of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom appeared on all published copies of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1814 until 1953.


Public General ActsEdit

Public General Acts form the largest category of legislation, in principle affecting the public general law applying to everyone across the entire United Kingdom (or at least to one or more of its constituent countries of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales).[3] Most Public General Acts proceed through Parliament as a public bill; occasionally, however, a bill is treated as hybrid.

Local and Personal Acts (Private Acts)Edit

Private Acts are either local or personal in their effect, applying to a specifically named locality or legal person in a manner different from all others. Private bills are "usually promoted by organisations, like local authorities or private companies, to give themselves powers beyond, or in conflict with, the general law. Private bills only change the law as it applies to specific individuals or organisations, rather than the general public. Groups or individuals potentially affected by these changes can petition Parliament against the proposed bill and present their objections to committees of MPs and Lords."[4] They include acts to confer powers on certain local authorities, a recent example being the Canterbury City Council Bill, which makes provisions relating to street trading and consumer protection in the city.[4] Private bills can also affect certain companies: the Northern Bank Bill allowed the statutory right of Northern Bank to issue bank notes to be transferred to Danske Bank which had acquired it.[5] Other private bills may affect particular companies established by Act of Parliament such as TSB Bank and Transas.


Private bills, common in the 19th century, are now rare, as new planning legislation introduced in the 1960s removed the need for many of them;[6] only a few, if any, are passed each year.

Parliamentary authorities maintain a list of all private bills before parliament.

Hybrid billsEdit

Hybrid bills combine elements of both public and private bill. While they propose to make changes to the general law, they also contain provisions applying to specific individuals or bodies. Recent examples are the Crossrail Bill, a hybrid bill to build a railway across London from west to east,[7] and the 1976 Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Bill, which was a particularly controversial bill that was ruled to be a hybrid bill, forcing the government to withdraw some of its provisions to allow its passage as a public bill. Once passed, hybrid bills are printed as part of the Public General Acts.

Parliamentary authorities maintain a list of all hybrid bills before parliament.

Other types of classificationEdit

Private members' billsEdit

It is important not to confuse private bills with private members' bills, which are public bills intended to effect a general change in the law. The only difference from other public bills is that they are brought forward by a private member (a backbencher) rather than by the government.[8] Twenty private members' bills per session are allowed to be introduced, with the sponsoring private members selected by a ballot of the whole house, and additional bills may be introduced under the Ten Minute Rule.

Financial billsEdit

Financial bills raise revenue and authorise how money is spent. The best-known such bills are the (normally annual) Finance Bills introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget. This usually encompasses all the changes to be made to tax law for the year. Its formal description is "a Bill to grant certain duties, to alter other duties, and to amend the law relating to the National Debt and the Public Revenue, and to make further provision in connection with finance".[9] Consolidated Fund and Appropriation Bills authorise government spending.[10]

Housekeeping billsEdit

This type of bill is designed to keep the business of government and public affairs up to date. These bills may not be substantial or controversial in party political terms. Two sub-classes of the housekeeping bill are consolidation bills, which set out existing law in a clearer and more up-to-date form without changing its substance; and the tax law rewrite bills[are there enough of these to constitute a class?], which do the same for tax law.[10]

Delegated legislationEdit

An Act of Parliament will often confer power on the Queen in Council, a Minister, or another public body to create delegated legislation, usually by means of a Statutory Instrument.

Stages of a billEdit

A representation of the legislative procedure.


Pre-legislative Scrutiny: Joint committee of both houses review the bill and vote on amendments that government can accept or reject. Reports are influential in later stages as rejected committee recommendations are revived to be voted on.





 Third Reading: A debate on final text as amended.


   First Reading: Same procedures

   Second Reading: Same procedures

Committee Stage: Same procedures

Report Stage: Same procedures


Passage: The bill is then returned to the original House.

Pre-legislative Scrutiny to consider all amendments.

Royal Assent for the Bill is then requested; if this is granted, the Bill becomes an Act.

Consultation, drafting and pre-legislative scrutinyEdit




Following a process of consultation, the sponsoring department will send drafting instructions to parliamentary counsel, expert lawyers working for the government responsible for writing legislation. These instructions will describe what the bill should do but not the detail of how this is achieved. The Parliamentary counsel must draft the legislation clearly to minimise the possibility of legal challenge and to fit the bill in with existing UK, European Union and delegated legislation. A finished bill must be approved or scrutinised by the sponsoring department and minister, parliamentary counsel and LP.[13]

The final stage is the submission of the bill to the authorities of the House in which it is to start its legislative journey. In the Commons, this is the Clerk of Legislation and the Public Bill Office in the Lords. They will check the following:[14]

  • That the bill complies with the rules of the house
  • Whether the Royal Prerogative is affected

After this process, the bill is then ready for introduction.

First readingEdit




A Government Bill can be introduced first into either House. Bills which begin in the Lords have '[Lords]' suffixed to its title when in the Lords and '[HL]' when in the Commons.[8] Bills which deal primarily with taxation or public expenditure begin their passage in the Commons since the financial privileges of that House mean that it has primacy in these matters (see Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949). Conversely, bills relating to the judicial system, Law Commission bills and consolidation bills begin their passage in the House of Lords which by convention has primacy in these matters.

Second readingEdit

In the second reading, which in theory is supposed to occur two weekends after the first reading, a debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. This is the main opportunity to debate the principle of the bill rather than individual clauses. A division at this stage, therefore, represents a direct challenge to the principle of the bill. If the bill is read a second time, it proceeds to the committee stage.


Second reading debates on government bills usually take a day, in practice about six hours. Smaller and less controversial bills will receive less time and wholly uncontroversial measures will receive a second reading 'on the nod' with no debate whatsoever.[19] The National Insurance Contributions bill appeared in the Order Papers as follows:



One teller from each side goes to the end of each division lobby and they count MPs as they emerge. Whips are also at the other end of the lobby to try to ensure that their MPs vote with the party line. The names are taken by division clerks and are published in Hansard the next day (see example from Hansard or with greater clarity from the Public Whip). Eight minutes after first calling the division, the Speaker says "lock the doors"; the doorkeepers lock the doors leading into the lobbies and no more MPs can get in to vote. When every member has passed the division clerks and tellers, a division slip is produced by the Clerks at the Table and is given to one of the tellers on the winning side. The tellers then form up at the Table in front of the Mace facing the Speaker, and the teller with the slip reads the result to the House, for example: "The Ayes to the right, 291. The Noes to the left, 161". The Clerk then takes the slip to the Speaker, who repeats the result and adds "So the Ayes have it, the Ayes have it. Unlock". The doorkeepers then unlock the doors to the division lobbies.[21] A division vote concerning a National Insurance Contributions Bill is illustrated from Hansard as follows:


Procedural orders and resolutionsEdit



Committee stageEdit

This usually takes place in a standing committee in the Commons and on the Floor of the House in the Lords. In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons utilises the following committees on bills:

  • Special Standing Committee: The committee investigates the issues and principles of the bill before sending it to a regular Standing Committee. This procedure has been used very rarely in recent years (the Adoption and Children Bill in 2001–2002 is the only recent example); the pre-legislative scrutiny process (see above) is now preferred. Now also known as a Special Public Bill Committee.


Report stageEdit


Third readingEdit

In the third reading, a debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. In the Lords, further amendments may be made on third reading, in the Commons, it is usually a short debate followed by a single vote; amendments are not permitted.





Consideration of amendmentsEdit


Enacting formulaEdit

Each Act commences with one of the following:


For money bills

Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949:


As a result of devolution, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the Scottish Parliament are also able to create primary legislation for their respective devolved institutions. These devolved legislatures are able to create legislation regarding all but reserved and excepted matters. However, Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom remain supreme and can overrule the devolved legislatures. By convention, the Parliament of the United Kingdom does not normally do this without a legislative consent motion.[28][29][30]






Historical recordsEdit

At the end of a medieval Parliament of England a collection of Acts of a public character was made in the form of a Statute Roll and given the title of the King’s regnal year; each particular Act forming a section, or a chapter, of the complete Statute, so that, e.g. the Vagabonds Act 1383 became VII Ric. II, c.5. Enrolment of Public Acts on manuscript parchment "Parliament Rolls" continued until 1850.[32] The longest Act of Parliament in the form of a scroll is an Act regarding taxation passed in 1821. It is nearly a quarter of a mile (348 m) long, and used to take two men a whole day to rewind.[33] Until 1850, a paper draft was brought into the House in which the Bill started; after the committee stage there the Bill was inscribed on a parchment roll and this parchment was then passed to the other House which could introduce amendments. The original Bill was never re-written and knives were used to scrape away the script from the top surface of the rolls before the new text was added. Since 1850 two copies of each Act were printed on vellum, one for preservation in the House of Lords and the other for transmission to the Public Record Office.[34]




Regnal year or years Monarch Abbreviation of "chapter" Chapter number
8 & 9 Geo 6 c 44

All Acts passed on or after 1 January 1963 are cited by calendar year and chapter.[35]



Acts in forceEdit

The UK's Ministry of Justice publishes most Acts of Parliament in an online statute law database. It is the official revised edition of the primary legislation of the United Kingdom. The database shows Acts as amended by subsequent legislation and is the statute book of UK legislation.

Acts of constitutional importanceEdit

Important acts in UK constitutional history include:

See alsoEdit

Further readingEdit

  • Bevan, Shaun; Greene, Zachary (February 2016). "Looking for the party? The effects of partisan change on issue attention in UK Acts of Parliament". European Political Science Review. 8 (1): 49–72. doi:10.1017/S175577391400040X.


  2. ^ "Why are new laws needed? - UK Parliament". Parliament of the United Kingdom.
  4. ^ a b Canterbury City Council Bill Archived 18 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, UK Parliament Bill Tracker
  5. ^ Northern Bank Bill Archived 18 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, UK Parliament Bill Tracker
  6. ^ Kelly, Richard. "Private Bills in Parliament: House of Commons Background Paper".
  7. ^ Crossrail (Hybrid Bill) Bill, UK Parliament Bill Tracker
  8. ^ a b Rogers p. 191
  9. ^ Finance Bill 2007–08, UK Parliament Bill Tracker
  10. ^ a b Rogers p. 193
  11. ^ a b Rogers p. 194
  12. ^ Rogers p. 199–202
  13. ^ Rogers p. 195
  14. ^ Rogers p. 195–196
  15. ^ Order of Business Monday 17 December 2007, UK Parliament
  16. ^ Rogers p.208
  17. ^ a b c Rogers p.210
  19. ^ Rogers p.209
  20. ^ Second reading Archived 31 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, How Parliament Works, UK Parliament
  21. ^ Rogers p.172
  22. ^ National Insurance Contributions Bill, Commons Hansard, 17 Dec 2007 : Column 668
  24. ^ "House of Commons - Public Bill Committee Debates".
  25. ^ Lawrence, Jon (January 2007). "What is to be done with the second chamber?". United Kingdom: History & Policy. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  26. ^ Conventions of the UK Parliament
  33. ^ a b "Some early Acts".
  34. ^ "History of Parliamentary Archives".
  35. ^ The Acts of Parliament Numbering and Citation Act 1962, Section 1
  36. ^ House of Lords Record Office.The making and keeping of Acts at Westminster