Bills other than Finance Bills founded on Ways and Means resolutions

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36.43Although the Finance Bill is the most common form of bill brought in upon Ways and Means resolutions, other bills the main object of which is to create a charge upon the people may also be brought forward by the Government, which must also be brought in upon such resolutions. Recent examples include the National Insurance Contributions Bill 2001–02, the HGV Road User Bill 2012–13, the Stamp Duty Land Tax Bill 2014–15, the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill 2017–19 and the Taxation (Post-transition Period) Bill 2019–21. In each case, a debate has taken place on the founding resolution or resolutions.1 Under modern practice, bills that are brought in upon Ways and Means resolutions and which create a charge upon the people are Bills of Aids and Supplies (on which see para 33.21 ).2 This is reflected in the words of enactment, which can sometimes take the same form as for a Finance Bill, or can take a specific form reflecting the provisions of the bill.3 This is also reflected in the form of announcing Royal Assent by Commission (on which see para 30.38 ). Bills concerning taxation which do not create a charge upon the people may also be brought in upon Ways and Means resolutions, in order to give the measures provisional statutory effect under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.4

Footnotes

  1. 1. For example, HC Deb (23 October 2012) 551, cc 861–90; ibid (4 December 2014) 589, cc 450–77; ibid (20 November 2017) 631, cc 758–826; ibid (8 December 2020) 685, cc 756–95.
  2. 2. On former practice, whereby certain bills were viewed as having the characteristics of a Bill of Aids and Supplies, but not classified as such (including the Safeguarding of Industries Bill 1921, which was amended by the House of Lords, and the Severn Bridge Tolls Bill 1964–65, which was viewed as containing provisions susceptible to amendment in the Lords), see Erskine May (24th edn, 2011), p 791.
  3. 3. For bills with the same enacting formula as a Finance Bill, see the four bills cited in Erskine May (24th edn, 2011), p 791 and the HGV Road User Act 2013. For variant forms, see the Stamp Duty Land Tax Act 2015, the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 and the example cited in para 26.9.
  4. 4. For example, the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Bill, HC Deb (13 July 2020) 678, cc 1289–90. The founding resolution for this Bill was not debated. All stages of the Bill were taken under a programme order on the same day the resolution was agreed.