Consolidation Bills

28.110Where the title of a bill is only to consolidate the law on a particular subject,1 it is out of order to amend the provisions of the statutes which by the bill are to be consolidated and fused together,2 as any such amendments are regarded as outside the scope of the bill, and were not contemplated when the House gave it a second reading.3 If they are justified by the circumstances, the following amendments may be excepted from this rule and be moved to such a Consolidation Bill:

  • an amendment to change the date on which the bill is to come into operation if, owing to the date when the bill is being considered, it would be inconvenient to bring it into operation on the date laid down in the bill, or if it is desired that ‘the appointed day’ for the bill coming into operation should be not earlier than a certain date;4
  • an amendment which would make the words of the bill express more clearly the law as it stands;5
  • an amendment which seeks to bring the bill into conformity with the existing law, if the Chair is satisfied that the bill, as reported from the Joint Committee, would effect an alteration of the law.6

Where the title of the bill is to consolidate with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949, amendments in Committee of the whole House are further restricted by the terms of that Act (s 1(7)).7 The corrections and minor improvements as defined in the Act (s 2) are laid before Parliament by the Lord Chancellor8 in a memorandum which is printed by both Houses9 and must be approved by the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills (see para 41.9 ), and the Speaker and the Lord Speaker must concur in such approval. When the bill has been reported by the committee, the authorised corrections and minor improvements are deemed to have become law and cannot be amended when the bill subsequently comes before a Committee of the whole House, nor can new ones be proposed.10

Where the title of the bill is to consolidate with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Law Commissions, the only amendments permissible are, first, amendments which would have been permissible if the bill had been a pure Consolidation Bill and, second, amendments relating directly to the recommendations of the Law Commissions.11 These recommendations are contained in a report made to the Lord Chancellor and are published as a Command Paper.12

Where the title of the bill is to consolidate and amend, or to consolidate with amendments, the law, amendments may be moved to the statutes which are to be consolidated.13

Footnotes

  1. 1. A Consolidation Bill may under certain circumstances pass from second to third reading without committal (SO No 58). See para 28.62.
  2. 2. HC Deb (1921) 146, c 1140.
  3. 3. See HC Deb (1922) 156, c 465 (ruling by the Speaker).
  4. 4. HC Deb (1921) 146, c 1142.
  5. 5. HC Deb (1921) 146, c 806.
  6. 6. HC Deb (1921) 146, c 1143; ibid (1948–49) 468, cc 1728, 1729; ibid (1987–88) 137, c 157.
  7. 7. For an example of an amendment accepted as in order by the Chair, see HC Deb (1966–67) 736, cc 570–74.
  8. 8. For bills which were purely Scottish, this has been done by the Advocate General for Scotland.
  9. 9. For example, LJ (1966–67) 42; CJ (1966–67) 46.
  10. 10. For Speaker's rulings on the scope of the Act, see HC Deb (1950) 478, c 390; ibid (1951–52) 503, cc 2050, 2053.
  11. 11. HC Deb (1966–67) 749, cc 23–24; ibid 751, cc 1638, 1643.
  12. 12. When applicable, the report is also made to the Scottish Ministers.
  13. 13. Supreme Court Bill [Lords], CJ (1980–81) 389, 438.