Having cleared detailed scrutiny in a Public Bill Committee, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill faces its next crucial test when it returns to the House of Commons for Report Stage on 16 May. This stage is often where Private Members' Bills falter. Will opponents of Kim Leadbeater’s proposals to legalise assisted dying win enough support to amend the Bill? Can supporters of the Bill fend off attempts to change it? And could the Bill be lost altogether, because of the procedural hurdles that still stand in its way?
In this edition of Parliament Matters, our resident procedural expert Paul Evans joins Ruth and Mark to unravel the intricate mysteries of Report Stage procedure. Drawing on his experience as a former senior Commons Clerk, Paul highlights the hidden dangers posed not only by opposition to the assisted dying bill but also by a seemingly unrelated Private Members' Bill aimed at regulating the importation of ferrets.
He also explains how amendments are selected and grouped for debate, how the debate itself is structured, and how opponents of the assisted dying bill might exploit parliamentary rules in an attempt to thwart its progress.
Paul Evans CBE
Paul worked as a Clerk in the House of Commons for nearly forty years, retiring in 2019 as Clerk of Committees responsible for the House’s select committees. He was made a CBE in 2019 for services to Parliament. During his career in the House of Commons he held a number of posts including Clerk of the Journals and Principal Clerk of the Table Office. He is a member of the Hansard Society and is a former Chair of the Study of Parliament Group . He has published a number of works on Parliament including the Dods Handbook of House of Commons Procedure.
Hansard Society
Parliament
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bill documents
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Intro: [00:00:00] You are listening to Parliament Matters at Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/pm..
Ruth Fox: Welcome to Parliament Matters, the podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy, parliament itself. I'm Ruth Fox.
Mark D'Arcy: And I'm Mark D'Arcy. And welcome to the latest in our series of special mini pods following the detailed progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, the bill that will allow assisted dying.
This week we're gonna preview the Report Stage of the bill, the latest rite of passage in its legislative process. This has been a bit of a moving target. Originally, Report Stage was scheduled for today, the day we're recording Friday the 25th of April, but Kim Leadbeater, the promoter of the bill, has now delayed report until Friday the 16th of May.
She [00:01:00] says it's because MPs need more time to consider amendments made at the Public Bill Committee stage. It's also worth noting incidentally that the impact assessment the government has promised for the bill still hasn't been published. We're still waiting for that and hoping that it arrives before that vital report stage.
Ruth Fox: So we're delighted again this week to be joined by our resident parliamentary procedural guru, Mr. Paul Evans, a former senior clerk in the House of Commons, and a longstanding member of the Hansard Society to unpack this next stage of the legislative process and uncover what may or may not happen at report stage.
So Paul, as Mark just said, Report's now gonna be the 16th of May, which is gonna be that first opportunity for all the MPs who were not on the public bill committee to speak and vote on proposed amendments and new clauses that they'd like to see in the bill. It's often at Report Stage that private members' bills face some of the most challenging procedural hurdles and we'll come on to some of that.
But before we start, can we sort of just [00:02:00] unpack what is the purpose of report stage and how does it differ to committee stage?
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The UK Spending Review outlines how Government funds will be allocated over several years. Unlike the Budget, which raises revenue, the Review decides how it is spent. But how is it approved? What role does Parliament play if it doesn’t vote on the Review itself? This blog explores how the Spending Review works, how it differs from the Budget, and how Parliament holds the Government to account through the Estimates process.
On Friday 13 June, the House of Commons will once again debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. Specifically, it will hold a second day of Report Stage, during which the whole House will debate and vote on amendments. This briefing explains the structure of Report Stage, what happened on the first day of Report Stage, how amendments are selected and grouped, on which amendments a decision can still be taken, and the likely sequence of events this Friday, including whether a final vote will take place.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, will deliver a statement on the Spending Review. MPs will resume Report Stage of the assisted dying bill and debate key legislation on football governance, mental health, and planning and infrastructure. Peers and MPs are expected to resolve their standoff over AI and copyright in the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The Commons Defence Committee will hear from the lead reviewers of the Strategic Defence Review, while a Lords Committee will examine the Chagos Archipelago sovereignty issue. The Hansard Society’s Director will give evidence to the Modernisation Committee about access to the House of Commons and its procedures.
In this episode, we explore why ministers keep bypassing Parliament to make major announcements to the media — and whether returning to the Despatch Box might help clarify their message. We unpack the Lords' uphill battle to protect creators’ rights in the Data Use and Access Bill, challenge claims that the Assisted Dying Bill lacks scrutiny, and examine early findings from a Speaker’s Conference on improving security for MPs, as threats and intimidation against politicians continue to rise. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.
Our evidence on treaty scrutiny has been published by the House of Lords International Agreements Committee. Our submission outlines the problems with the existing framework for treaty scrutiny and why legislative and cultural change are needed to improve Parliament's scrutiny role. Our evidence joins calls for a parliamentary consent vote for the most significant agreements, a stronger role for Parliament in shaping negotiating mandates and monitoring progress, and a sifting committee tasked with determining which agreements warrant the greatest scrutiny.
