Provisions to be within the order of leave or notice of presentation

28.13A bill should not contain provisions which are not authorised by the notice of presentation or the order of leave; or, when it is founded upon resolutions, by the resolutions upon which it was ordered to be brought in. The title of the bill must correspond with the notice of presentation,1 or the order of leave,2 and the bill itself must be prepared pursuant to the order of leave3 or resolution4 and be in proper form. If these rules have not been observed, the bill cannot be proceeded with,5 if the irregularity is in any way substantial.6 Where the title of the bill as presented to the House refers to purposes which are found not to be mentioned in the clauses of the bill submitted for publication, the proper course is to withdraw the original bill and present a new one with an appropriate long title.7 In the case of a Private Members' Bill presented under the ballot procedure, however, this principle is not applied because the bill would thereby forfeit its balloted priority.8

Any objections, however, should be taken before the second reading;9 for it is not the practice to order bills to be withdrawn, after they are committed, on account of any irregularity which can be corrected while the bill is in committee,10 or on re-committal.

Footnotes

  1. 1. House Letting (Scotland) Bill and Coal Mines (Check-weighers) Bill, CJ (1908) 188, 225; Parl Deb (1908) 188, c 1439; ibid 189, c 1437. The title of a bill as presented must not contain any alterations not covered by the notice on the paper, HC Deb (1909) 9, c 2313.
  2. 2. New Zealand Bill, CJ (1847) 832; Elective Franchise and Registration of Electors (Ireland) Bill, CJ (1847–48) 522.
  3. 3. Poor Removal (Ireland) Bill, CJ (1883) 161; Speaker's Ruling, Registration of Electors Bill, Parl Deb (1893) 10, c 938.
  4. 4. Parl Deb (1894) 24, c 1201; HC Deb (1914) 63, c 1569.
  5. 5. CJ (1825) 329; ibid (1826–27) 325; ibid (1829) 261; ibid (1837) 254; ibid (1937–38) 220, 221.
  6. 6. HC Deb (1919) 120, c 548. Cf ibid (1913) 52, c 1221; ibid (1955–56) 548, c 1217.
  7. 7. HC Deb (1931) 247, c 345.
  8. 8. In such cases, an amendment to the long title not consequential on any amendment to the bill is permitted: see para 28.119.
  9. 9. A bill has been withdrawn on re-committal when notice was taken of an irregularity in the drafting and it appeared that the second reading had been agreed to under a misapprehension of its contents, Parl Deb (1871) 206, cc 577, 631.
  10. 10. Parl Deb (1843) 71, c 403; ibid (1894) 27, cc 1091–96; HC Deb (1911) 32, c 215.