Explain how an Act of Parliament is passed (12 marks)

The first stage in passing an Act of Parliament involves introducing a Green Paper (this contains tentative proposals for new law). The next stage is a White Paper (which contains firm proposals for a new piece of legislation. There then follows the drafting stage, where draftsmen write the Bill (including a preamble explaining what the Bill intends to do). There will also be definition sections in the Draft version of the Bill. After this follows the First Reading (where the Bill is read out and Parliament is familiarised with the general scope of the Bill. It can be introduced into either House of Parliament. Once this has occurred the Second Reading follows where there are votes on the Bill and any amendments to it can be put forward. The Committee Stage occurs after this with an ad hoc Select Committee set up to review the Bill and its proposals. The findings of this Committee are then announced to Parliament in the Report Stage. There is then a Third Reading and another vote on whether to pass the Bill. It then passes to the other House of Parliament (to the Commons if it originated in the House of Lords or vice versa). Once the other House has voted to pass the Bill, it goes to the monarch to be signed into law and receive the Royal Assent (and thus becomes an Act of Parliament.