Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill 2024-25
A bill briefing on the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill [HL] 2024-25.
Commons and Lords Private Members’ Bills (PMBs), and their sponsoring Members, which have received Royal Assent since the start of the 1983 Parliament.
Successful Private Members' Bills since 1983 (82 KB , Excel Spreadsheet)
Private Members’ Bills (PMBs) are bills introduced by Members of the Commons or the Lords who are not government ministers. With limited time available for the consideration of PMBs, generally only those with Government and cross-party support are successful. Although only a minority of PMBs become law, they are a valuable way for backbench Members to raise issues not on the Government’s agenda.
Under the Standing Orders of the House of Commons a backbench Member can introduce a bill in three ways:
Only the short title and long title of a PMB is required for presentation and first reading. The full text is often not available until shortly before the second reading of the bill.
The Library briefing Public bills in Parliament explains the procedure for public bills, including PMBs, and their passage through both Houses of Parliament.
Government business has precedence in Parliament and most bills considered by Parliament are Government bills.
Time set aside by the House for consideration of PMBs is limited under SO No 14(8) to 13 Fridays in each session.
The first seven of these Fridays are reserved for second reading debates. Members drawn high in the ballot can nominate one of the first seven Fridays for their second reading; consequently these bills have more chance of making progress. On and after the eighth Friday, bills that have progressed beyond second reading take precedence.
Debates on PMBs are not programmed and are susceptible to being ‘talked out’.
Extra time may be provided for consideration of PMBs. In recent sessions:
The Procedure Committee examined Private Members’ Bills procedure in the 2010 and 2015 Parliaments.
Private Members’ bills, 2 Sep 2013, HC 188 2013-14
Private Members’ bills: Government response and revised proposals, 31 Mar 2014, HC 1171 2013-14
Private Members’ bills, 18 Apr 2016, HC 684 2015-16
Private Members’ bills: Government response to Committee’s 3rd Report of Session 2015-16, 13 Jun 2016, HC 383 2016-17
Private Members’ bills: Observations on the Government response to the Committee’s Third Report of Session 2015–16 HC 684, 18 Oct 2016, HC 701 2016-17
Private Members’ bills: Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report of Session 2016–17, 16 Jan 2017, HC 937 2016-17
The Procedure Committee did not consider PMBs in the 2017 or 2019 Parliaments.
At the start of each session in the House of Lords a ballot is held, two days after the State Opening of Parliament, to determine the order in which the first 25 Lords PMBs will be introduced. The procedure for the ballot is set out in the Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords.
If a bill completes its passage through the House of Lords, it requires a Member of the House of Commons to sponsor it in the Commons.
See Lords private members’ bills ballot 2023 for results of the ballot held on 9 November 2023.
The downloadable Excel file lists Commons and Lords Private Members’ Bills, and their sponsoring Members, which have received Royal Assent since the start of the 1983 Parliament. Source details are available in the Excel file.
Further information
Progress of the 2023-24 Private Members’ Bills can be followed on Parliament’s bills website.
The Parliament: facts and figures series covers topics including elections, government, legislation, Members and parliamentary business.
Please get in touch with us at papers@parliament.uk with comments, corrections, or if you would like to access the data in a different format.
Successful Private Members' Bills since 1983 (82 KB , Excel Spreadsheet)
A bill briefing on the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill [HL] 2024-25.
Results of the House of Commons ballot for Private Members’ Bills (PMBs) in each session since 1997-98
Maiden speeches made by newly elected MPs since 1918, with links to Hansard where available.