ABSTRACT
For the lobbyist, every stage is a good one, save for Third Reading in the Commons, since no amendments are permitted then. The stages are broadly similar in each House and are as follows.
The First Reading of a Bill is the time it is introduced into Parliament. The Bill is not, in fact, read, but simply produced to the House. Each Bill is sponsored by an MP, known as ‘the member in charge’. Usually, this is the Government Minister in charge of the Department of State which has produced the Bill. So, for the Access to Justice Bill, where the Bill was produced by the LCD, the Lord Chancellor was the member in charge and the Bill was introduced in the House of Lords, since that is where the Lord Chancellor sits.
