Private bills receive their second reading, report stage, and third reading in the Chamber. At each of these stages, private bills are usually initially considered formally, without debate. This is known as unopposed private business. The time for unopposed private business is Monday to Thursday straight after Prayers.
The process for private bills taken at the time for unopposed private business is as follows:
- the Speaker says: “Order, Order. The Clerk will now proceed to read the title of the private bill set down for consideration this day”
- the clerk reads the stage and title of the bill.
- the Chairman of Ways and Means or another Deputy Speaker says “Now”
- if there are objections (or there’s a blocking motion) the Speaker asks the Chairman of Ways and Means or another Deputy Speaker to name a future day, OR
- if there are no objections, the question is agreed to
When a bill is opposed persistently at the time for unopposed private business, the Chairman of Ways and Means can put it down for a three-hour debate.
The Chairman of Ways and Means has oversight of private business and when there’s a debate on a private bill, the Chairman of Ways and Means or another Deputy Speaker will usually be in the Chair.
The process is as follows:
- the Deputy Speaker in the Chair says: “Order, Order: The Clerk will now proceed to read the title of the private bill set down for consideration at this hour”
- the clerk reads the stage and title of the bill
- a second Deputy Speaker says “Now”
- the Deputy Speaker in the Chair calls the MP who is putting the case for the bill on behalf of its promotors to move the motion and speak about the bill
- the debate takes place and you can take part
- when there’s no one left to speak in the debate, or an MP moves the closure, the Deputy Speaker puts the question, which is decided with or without the need for a vote (if an MP is still speaking after three hours, the debate is suspended and can be resumed on another day)