Parliamentary questions take the form of either starred questions or written questions in the House of Lords. Starred questions are oral questions that tended to be based on topical issues. Written questions are tabled and answered usually within 14 days and published in Hansard. To find out more on this issue click through our guide...Read More

Where a Bill has fallen because it has been endorsed by the Commons but opposed repeatedly by the Lords, the Parliament Acts may be used. The Acts – the first in 1911 and the second in 1949 – allow for a Bill to become law without the agreement of the Lords when certain conditions have...Read More

The Treaty of Rome set the EU the task of promoting the harmonious development of economic activities, balanced and continuous expansion, increased stability, rising living standards and closer relations between member states "by establishing a common market and progressively approximating the economic policies of member states". Ensuring that the benefits of economic policy are evenly...Read More

There are different types of parliamentary questions with various question sessions held in Parliament every week. These include oral questions, written questions, cross-cutting questions, and Prime Minister questions. To find out more on this issue click through our guide to parliamentary questions.Read More

All the major political parties have representation in the Lords. Until the removal of the hereditary peers, the Conservatives had a substantial in-built majority, which continues to remain to an extent. In practice, the Conservatives and Labour are now reasonably in terms of working peers, with the Liberal Democrats having sufficient numbers to swing key...Read More

While the procedure for Private Bills mirrors that for Public Bills, additional weight is given to those individuals and organisations ‘directly or specially’ affected by proposals, given that the legislation would favour an individual or organisation over a comparable individual or organisation. An application requesting a Private Bill must be lodged with the House authorities...Read More

Where a Bill has fallen because it has been endorsed by the Commons but opposed repeatedly by the Lords, the Parliament Acts may be used. The Acts – the first in 1911 and the second in 1949 – allow for a Bill to become law without the agreement of the Lords when certain conditions have...Read More

All Government Bills are programmed, also known as timetabling. The programming of every Bill is a recent development. Historically 'guillotining' debates on Bills was used sparingly and only for key legislation.Read More

Increasingly new pieces of government legislation are published in draft about one Session ahead of their intended introduction and passage. Draft Bills are normally subjected to pre-legislative scrutiny at the hands of a joint-committee of MPs and peers formed for that purpose. Such a committee will take evidence from individuals and organisations who express an...Read More

Private Members Bills are Public Bills that are introduced by backbench Members of Parliament. The Abortion Act, 1967, introduced by the then Liberal MP, David Steel, is perhaps the most famous Private Members Bill in recent times.Read More

Primary legislation (Bills and Acts) is split into two categories - Public Bills and Private Bills (with Hybrid Bills in a sub-category between the two).Read More

The Prime Minister comes to the House of Commons each Wednesday when Parliament is sitting to answer questions from back-benchers and opposition leaders. The session is due to last 30 minutes, albeit under former Speaker John Bercow, they extended far longer than scheduled.Read More

The Scottish parliament may legislate on any issue that is not in a reserved area for Westminster. A bill can be introduced by the Scottish Executive, by a Scottish Parliament Committee, or as a private members bill by an individual MSP.Read More

Our guide to plenary sessions provides information on how business agendas and debates are tabled, the passage of legislation, and voting processes in the Assembly. To find out more on this issue click through our guide to plenary sessions in the Welsh Assembly.Read More

The Scottish Parliament, based in the Holyrood area of the City of Edinburgh, first sat in 1999. An overview of the Parliament , covering its current membership, sitting patterns and times, voting mechanism, powers, and operations.Read More

The Privy Council, as body of government, predates the Cabinet and the existence of the Prime Minister by many centuries. Originally the private council of trusted advisers surrounding the sovereign, it has evolved to become a somewhat hidden instrument of government.Read More

Political parties become governments by winning elections having put a manifesto containing policy proposals to voters. But not all policies that a government makes while in power can be found in these documents and regardless of where an idea originated, most go through some development within government prior to implementation.  Read More

Each government department has a Parliamentary Branch. The Branch is charged with managing the department's relations with the House of Commons and the House of Lords.Read More