Ten Minute Rule

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The Ten Minute Rule, also known as Standing Order No. 23, is a procedure in the

reading

Introduction of the bill

Any

backbenchers. To qualify to introduce a bill under the rule, the MP in question must be the first through the door to the Public Bill Office on the Tuesday or Wednesday morning fifteen working days (usually three weeks) prior to the date they wish to introduce their bill. Due to the popularity of the rule and the difficulty in launching a Private Member's Bill by other means, MPs have been known to sleep outside the Public Bill Office in order to guarantee a slot.^[1] In 2014 three MPs agreed a sleeping rota between themselves in order to ensure that they were first in the queue.^[2]

Debate

Ten Minute Rule motions are held in the main chamber of the House of Commons immediately after

divide the house for a recorded count of votes if there is some opposition. However, the majority of Ten Minute Rule motions are not objected to,^[3] and are allowed to proceed without any debate at this stage; this is because MPs have not yet been able to review the bill's content.^[4]

Progression towards becoming law

When a Ten Minute Rule motion passes, the bill is added to the register of parliamentary business. It is scheduled for debate along with the other Private Member's Bills, but at a lower priority. The Backbench Business Committee (or Leader of the House of Commons, if the Government decides to support the bill) are responsible for determining if and when to allocate parliamentary time for a second reading debate; the MP presenting the bill must then inform the Speaker of its date. The bill is generally printed and published shortly before the second reading.

Bills introduced under the Ten Minute Rule rarely progress much further, because the

parliamentary session. Most Ten Minute Rule introductions are instead used to stimulate publicity for a cause, especially because the debate follows the media-popular question time and is usually broadcast live on BBC Parliament

. Alternatively, a Ten Minute Rule bill can be used to gauge the opinion of MPs on an issue which is planned to be introduced in another bill at a later date.

Sometimes bills introduced under the Ten Minute Rule do become law, passing through every

Acts of Parliament which were initially introduced under the Ten Minute Rule, including the Divorce (Religious Marriages) Act 2002.^[5]

The

Queen's Consent for its progression to a second reading.^[6]

References

^ "Ten Minute Rule Bill". BBC News. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
^ Crace, John (14 May 2015). "The insider's guide to Westminster: from Portcullis House to the Burma Road". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ "Private Members' Bills Procedure" (PDF). Westminster, United Kingdom: Parliament of the United Kingdom. June 2009. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
^ "Bills and Legislation: No Debate". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
^ "Ten Minute Rule Bills Reaching Royal Assent Since 1945" (PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
^ Booth, Robert (15 January 2013). "Secret papers show extent of senior royals' veto over bills". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2013.