This Insight looks at ethnic minority representation in the House of Commons both historically and currently.
Documents to download
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Expedited legislation: Public bills receiving their Second and Third Reading on the same day in the House of Commons (127 KB, PDF)
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Supporting documents
Not all bills expedited in the House of Commons were similarly fast-tracked through the House of Lords.
In the case of the Dangerous Dogs Bill 1990–91, the Government wanted the bill on the statute book before the long parliamentary recess. An expedited passage through the Commons allowed time for a normal passage through the Lords with Royal Assent being granted before the House rose for the summer recess.
These and other issues are examined in a report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution – Fast-track legislation: constitutional implications and safeguards [HL 116 2008–09]. The report sets out the following justifications which have been used for fast-tracking legislation:
- Northern Ireland peace process and devolution settlement (the single largest category in terms of numbers of Bills)
- To remedy an anomaly, oversight, error or uncertainty that has come to light in legislation
- To respond to the effects of a court judgement
- To ensure that legislation is in force in time for a forthcoming event
- To deal with economic crisis
- To change a public authority’s borrowing or lending limit or other funding issues
- To deal with a crisis in prisons as a result of industrial action
- To respond to international agreements
- To implement Treasury announcement in the Budget or autumn statement
- To respond to public concerns
- Counter-terrorism related
Appendix 5 of the report lists all expedited bills 1979–2009 with a brief summary of the justification given.
The Commons Library Briefing SN05256 Fact-track legislation reviews the outcome of House of Lords Constitution Committee’s inquiry into fast-track legislation and reports how information has been provided to Parliament on bills that have been fast-tracked.
Further information
The Institute for Government’s explainer on Fast-tracked/emergency legislation includes a table showing the typical length of time between stages of a bill in both Houses.
Parliament: facts and figures
Browse all briefings in the series
This series of publications contains data on various subjects relating to Parliament and Government. Topics include legislation, MPs, select committees, debates, divisions and Parliamentary procedure.
Feedback
Please send any comments or corrections to the Parliament & Constitution Centre. Suggestions for new lists welcomed.
Related Links
Documents to download
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Expedited legislation: Public bills receiving their Second and Third Reading on the same day in the House of Commons (127 KB, PDF)
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Supporting documents
Related posts
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This List notes opposition day debates in the House of Commons since 2017. Opposition day debates under previous administrations are listed in the spreadsheet which is uploaded as a supporting document. The five tables cover:
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On 23 September 2020, the House agreed to make the proxy voting scheme permanent, following the Procedure Committee's review of the pilot scheme. It also extended the proxy arrangements for public health reasons relating to the pandemic.
