Legislation Matters: Interacting with legislation

The lifecycle of legislation

Primary legislation

Primary legislation has a predictable lifecycle, which can take a shorter or longer period of time depending on urgency. There are several points where businesses can make their voices heard, but it will vary from bill to bill.

1. Idea generation – the legislative lifecycle usually begins in Government. While the idea for new legislation or changes to existing legislation can come from various sources such as citizens, interest groups, individual MPs or members of the House of Lords, the most likely source is a Government promise to take action, sometimes in a manifesto or sometimes in response to events.

2. Behind the scenes in Government, policies are worked on and iterated between civil servants and Ministers, before being translated into legal drafting.

3. In our experience, businesses and organisations are often well plugged into things once legislation is introduced. But conversations need to start early and legal issues need to be ironed out at the beginning of a process if things are to go smoothly.  Many businesses can benefit from guidance on the process and points to influence at this point.

4. First Reading – the bill is introduced in either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. The first reading is a formal stage where the bill’s title and main objectives are read out.

5. Second Reading – this is the first opportunity for the House of Commons or House of Lords to debate the general principles and themes of the bill. The House of Commons and House of Lords can make changes to the contents of the bill through amendments – the changes must be agreed to by both Houses. A vote is taken at the end of the debate and if the bill passes it moves to the committee stage

6. Committee stage – the bill is examined in detail by a committee of MPs or Lords. They scrutinise each clause and may make amendments.

7. Report stage – the committee reports back to the House and further opportunities for debate and amendments are provided.

8. Third reading – the final version of the bill is debated. A vote is taken and if the bill passes it moves to the other House to undergo a similar process.

9. “Ping pong” sometimes happens between the two Houses of Parliament if there are particularly contentious issues as the bill “pings” back and forth between Houses. Once eventually agreed by both Houses, the final version of the bill is sent to the Monarch and the bill is given Royal Assent. It then becomes an Act (law). Almost all current Acts of Parliament are available to read on the legislation.gov.uk website.

10. Implementation – the new law is implemented by the relevant government departments and agencies, often through secondary legislation.

Secondary Legislation

Secondary legislation can sound less important than primary legislation, but it is often a bigger part of implementation of the new law for businesses and people affected. Secondary legislation is law created by ministers under powers given by Acts of Parliament. They put “meat on the bone” of the primary legislation to enable the law to be enforced and operate in daily life. Secondary legislation is laid before Parliament in the form of Statutory Instruments (“SIs”) by Ministers and Parliament can either approve or reject an SI but cannot amend it. The House of Lords and House of Commons can consider an SI at the same time, unlike primary legislation.

It is well worth investing more time to consider and respond to proposals for or consultation on secondary legislation to understand the implications and any difficulties – not least because secondary legislation can be changed relatively easily by the Government if it needs amending. In addition, unlike primary legislation, secondary legislation is also subject to legal challenge through judicial review, so avenues of disagreement exist even after the law is made (although this process has some complexities including a need to act promptly).

The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech is a key moment in the Parliamentary agenda. It is typically held annually and is a significant event where the King comes to Parliament to open Parliament and outline the government’s legislative agenda for the upcoming Parliamentary session. Usually legislation must progress through Parliament during that session to avoid being dropped due to lack of time.

Some key legislation announced in the last King’s Speech, delivered on 17 July 2024 included:

Responding to legislation

Achieving change with legislative proposals is not straightforward. In our experience, there are a number of points when legislative proposals can best be influenced, such as:

• Early days of policy development
• Publication of draft legislation (if applicable)
• During Parliamentary passage
• Development of secondary legislation

A different and nuanced approach is needed for each stage. Our experienced team is able to support you with discussions about what you want to achieve and how best to achieve it.

In case you missed it, check out our first two instalments in the Legislation Matters series which can be found here.