Types of Bills

A Bill is a proposal for a new law. Most Bills are introduced into Parliament by the Government; some will be implementing policies that were promised in its election manifesto and others will be responding to economic and social issues as they develop.

There are two main kinds of Bill – Public Bills and Private Bills.

Public Bills are intended to affect the public as a whole and change the general law. They are Government Bills and Private Members’ Bills. The majority of Public Bills that become Acts of Parliament are introduced by a government Minister and are known as Government Bills. When a new government comes to power after a general election it will normally have a number of policies it wishes to put into effect. Where necessary it will try to change the law by introducing Bills into Parliament. Each Bill will be piloted through Parliament by a Minister from the appropriate Government Department. Government Bills usually succeed in getting through Parliament because the Government has a majority in the House of Commons. Private Members’ Bills are sponsored by individual MPs. Many Private Members’ Bills fail to complete their passage through Parliament, either through lack of support or, more likely, because of shortage of time. Government business is usually given priority and Private Members’ Bills can get squeezed out. To be successful a Private Members’ Bill ideally needs to be non-controversial and have support of the Government.

Private Bills are only intended to affect one particular area or organisation. They are promoted by organisations outside the House (e.g. local authorities or companies) to obtain powers for themselves in excess of or in conflict with the general law. They should not be confused with Private Members’ Bills, which are a type of Public Bill. In practice, only a few Private Bills are now considered each session.

Hybrid Bills are Public Bills which may affect the specific private rights of people or bodies. They are generally introduced by the Government, but are fairly rare.

TASK 10. Translate the following terms into Russian:

• Public Bill
• Government Bill
• Private Members’ Bill
• Private Bill
• Hybrid Bill

TASK 11. Rearrange paragraphs in the text and put them in the correct order: