Report stage is a key stage in a bill’s legislative journey that takes place on the floor of the main chamber after the bill has been scrutinised by a committee. Its primary purpose is to provide an opportunity for all MPs, not just those who served on the committee, to consider the bill in detail and to propose further amendments.

It is so named because the House is formally considering the Bill as reported from the committee that examined it. The cross-party public bill committee will have already considered amendments to the bill. Report stage ensures that the entire House has a chance to have its say on the final shape of a proposed law before it is approved or rejected at third reading.

If the bill has been considered by a committee of the whole House (rather than a public bill committee) and not amended, there is no report stage. The bill passes straight to third reading.

Report stage is a feature of the legislative process in both the commons and the House of Lords.

How does the report stage of a bill work?

There is no set time between a bill’s committee stage and its report stage. But it tends to take place several days or weeks after a bill’s committee stage has concluded. In the House of Lords, it usually takes place two weeks after committee stage has concluded.

If it is a government bill, the proposed legislation will be timetabled in advance by a “programme motion” – the mechanism used by the government to schedule a government bill’s progress through the commons.

Crucially, the debate happens on the floor of the main House of Commons chamber. The length of a bill’s report stage is generally aligned with the proposed legislation’s length and complexity.

As a result, any MP can table amendments to be considered at report stage. These can be proposals for new clauses to be added to the bill, amendments to change the wording of existing clauses or amendments to remove clauses entirely.

It is ultimately up to the speaker to decide which of the tabled amendments are chosen for debate and a potential vote. The speaker’s choices are published ahead of report stage.

The speaker will prioritise the most significant amendments and will group similar amendments, which address a particular topic or theme, together for a single debate. The House debates the selected groups of amendments. The MP who tabled the amendment that heads each group (the lead amendment) is called by the speaker to address the House first. MPs who tabled other amendments in the group can also address the commons in that debate.

Once the debate on that group is over, debate on the next group begins.

At the end of the debate, the member who moved the lead amendment will either withdraw the amendment or press it to a decision. This is usually indicated during the debate.

The House may then vote (hold a division) on the lead amendment in that group.

What is the point of report stage?

Report stage ensures wider scrutiny of the bill in question. The previous stage, a bill’s committee stage, may be conducted by a small public bill committee of around 17 MPs. For most MPs, therefore, report stage is the first and only opportunity to debate the detailed text of the bill and to vote on specific amendments.

It also provides the opportunity for the government to introduce new amendments.

It provides a chance for the government to introduce new amendments to fulfill previous promises, including those given in committee. The government can also overturn the decision of the public bill committee, returning it to a previous state.

Moreover, if a minister has promised to consider a matter in a bill’s previous stages, amendments on the subject are likely to be selected for debate during report stage.

However, amendments that are very similar to those that were already debated and defeated in the committee stage are unlikely to be selected again.

Report stage arguably shows backbenchers at their most powerful. Ministers may look to avoid a possible rebellion at report stage by making concessions to those proposing amendments, especially if they are government backbenchers.

The government, of course, may also choose to accept amendments tabled in the utmost good faith with a view to “tidying up” a given bill. The stage helps ensure that parliament passes well-drafted legislation.

What happens next? A bill’s third reading

Immediately after the report stage concludes, usually on the same day, the bill moves to its third reading. This is the final stage of a bill’s passage.

The third reading is a final debate on the bill as a whole, in its amended form.

At the end of the debate, the House takes a final vote on whether the bill should be passed. If agreed, the bill is then sent to the other House of parliament.

Exceptions: what is a committee of the whole House?

If a bill has its committee stage on the floor of the main chamber in a “committee of the whole House”, and no amendments are made, there is no separate report stage. The House moves directly from the committee stage to the third reading.