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Private Members' Ballot Bills First Reading: 2 July 2014

2 July 2014 (updated on 2 July 2014)

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Twenty Private Members' Ballot Bills had their first reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday 2 July 2014.

The first reading stage of a Bill is formal, with no debate. Following first reading, the sponsoring MP nominates the date for the next stage, second reading, to take place. Second reading is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the main principles of the Bill.

After first reading the Bills will be considered on the 13 Fridays that the House is scheduled to sit in the 2014-15 session.

The complete text of Private Members' Bills is often not published until close to the second reading debate. For the presentation of the bill only the short and long titles are needed. The publication of the bill is arranged by the sponsoring MP.

Private Members' Ballot Bills 2014-15

The Private Member's Bills were presented in ballot order: 

1. Affordable Homes - Andrew George

Bill to make provision about the availability of affordable homes; and for connected purposes.

2. International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) - Michael Moore

Bill to make provision about the meeting by the United Kingdom of the target for official development assistance (ODA) to constitute 0.7 per cent of gross national income; to make provision for independent verification that ODA is spent efficiently and effectively; and for connected purposes.

3. European Union (Referendum) - Robert Neill

Bill to make provision for the holding of a referendum in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union.

4. Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding - Richard Bacon

Bill to place a duty on local authorities to keep a register of individuals and community groups who have expressed an interest in acquiring land to bring forward self-build and custom-build projects and to take account of and make provision for the interests of those on such registers in developing their housing initiatives and their local plans; to allow volume house builders to include self-build and custom-build projects as contributing towards their affordable housing obligations, when in partnership for this purpose with a Registered Social Landlord; and for connected purposes.

5. Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) - Jeremy Lefroy

Bill to make provision about the safety of health and social care services in England; to make provision about the integration of information relating to users of health and social care services in England; to make provision about the sharing of information relating to an individual for the purposes of providing that individual with health or social care services in England; to make provision for removing individuals convicted of certain offences from the registers kept by the regulatory bodies for health and social care professions; to make provision about the objectives of the regulatory bodies for health and social care professions and the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care; to make provision about the disposal of cases concerning a person’s fitness to practise a health or social care profession; and for connected purposes.

6. National Health Service (Amended Duties and Powers) - Clive Efford

Bill to re-establish the Secretary of State’s legal duty to provide national health services in England; to amend the provisions of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 relating to Monitor; to repeal the regulations made under section 75 of that Act; to make other amendments to the provisions in that Act relating to competition and provision of private health services; and for connected purposes.

7. Tenancies (Reform) - Sarah Teather

Bill to protect tenants against retaliatory eviction; to amend the law on notices requiring possession relating to assured shorthold tenancies; and for connected purposes.

8. Control of Horses - Julian Sturdy

Bill to make provision for the taking of action in relation to horses which are in public places; and for connected purposes.

9. Local Government (Review of Decisions) - Mark Spencer

Bill to make provision about the procedure for conducting investigations under Part 3 of the Local Government Act 1974; and to make provision for cases where an authority to which that Part applies takes a decision that affects the holding of an event for a reason relating to health or safety.

10. Off-Patent Drugs - Robert Neill on behalf of Jonathan Evans

Bill to require the Secretary of State to take steps to secure licences for off-patent drugs in new indications; to require the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to conduct technology appraisals for off-patent drugs in new indications; and for connected purposes.

11. Zero Hours Contracts - Ian Mearns

Bill to limit the use of zero hours contracts; and for connected purposes.

12. Low Pay Commission (National Minimum Wage) - Dan Jarvis

Bill to require the Secretary of State to set a target for the Low Pay Commission to increase the minimum wage during the term of a Parliament; to require the Low Pay Commission to write to the Secretary of State if this target cannot be met; to require the Secretary of State to ensure that the Low Pay Commission has the power to set up taskforces in certain sectors; and for connected purposes.

13. Local Government (Religious etc Observances) - Jake Berry

Bill to make provision about the inclusion at local authority meetings of observances that are, and about powers of local authorities in relation to events that to any extent are, religious or related to a religious or philosophical belief.

14. Household Safety (Carbon Monoxide Detectors) - Andrew Bingham

Bill to introduce a requirement that a functioning carbon monoxide detector must be installed in all newly built and all rented residential properties; and for connected purposes.

15. Under-Occupancy Penalty (Exemptions) - Yvonne Fovargue

Bill to exempt social housing tenants who claim Disability Living Allowance or who have occupied a property for at least six months or who have not been offered alternative accommodation from the size criteria provisions of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 and the Universal Credit Regulations 2013; and for connected purposes.

16. Transparency and Accountability - John Hemming

Bill to make provision regarding arrangements for children involved in court proceedings; to make provision about the transparency, administration and accountability of courts and case conferences; to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament annually on the number of prisoners who have exceeded their tariff and have not been released because they do not admit guilt; to extend the Criminal Cases Review Commission’s powers to obtain information; to make provision about consumer complaints in markets for public services; to amend certain sections of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 relating to contracts; and for connected purposes.

17. Control of Offshore Wind Turbines - Christopher Chope

Bill to restrict the height, number, location and operation of wind turbines situated off shore within twenty miles of the coast; to restrict subsidies available for such turbines; to make provision regulating the length, location and environmental impact of cables connecting such turbines to the national grid; and for connected purposes.

18. Responsible Parking (Scotland) - Mark Lazarowicz

Bill to amend Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998 to exclude from the reservations certain provisions relating to parking; and for connected purposes.

19. Health Service Commissioner for England (Complaint Handling) - David Davis

Bill to make provision about the handling of complaints by the Health Service Commissioner for England; to require the Commissioner to notify a complainant of the reason for the delay if the investigation of the complaint is not concluded within a 12 month period; to require the Commissioner to lay before Parliament an annual report giving details of how long investigations of complaints have taken to be concluded and progress towards meeting a target of concluding investigations within a 12 month period; and for connected purposes.

20. Pavement Parking - Martin Horwood

Bill to make provision for the safety, convenience and free movement on pavements of disabled people, older people, people accompanying young children, and other pavement users; to clarify, strengthen and simplify the law relating to parking on pavements in England and Wales; and for connected purposes.

What happens next?

After first reading the Bills will then be considered on sitting Fridays. Time for debating Private Members' Bills is limited to 13 Fridays in each session of Parliament.

The following Fridays have been set for discussion of Private Members’ Bills in 2014-15:

  • 5 September 2014
  • 12 September 2014
  • 17 October 2014
  • 24 October 2014
  • 7 November 2014
  • 21 November 2014
  • 28 November 2014
  • 5 December 2014
  • 9 January 2015
  • 16 January 2015
  • 23 January 2015
  • 27 February 2015
  • 6 March 2015

Related information

What are Private Members' Bills?

Private Members' Bills are Public Bills introduced by MPs and Lords who are not government ministers. As with other Public Bills their purpose is to change the law as it applies to the general population. A minority of Private Members' Bills become law.

There are three ways in which a Member can table a Private Members' Bill but Ballot Bills have the best chance of becoming law, as they get priority for the limited amount of debating time available.

The names of Members applying for a Bill are drawn in a ballot held at the beginning of the parliamentary year. Normally, the first seven ballot Bills get a day's debate.

The ballot for Private Members' Bills for the 2014-15 session took place on Thursday 12 June 2014.

Watching a debate from the public gallery

UK residents and overseas visitors can watch proceedings in the House of Commons by visiting the public gallery.

This article was produced by the Commons Digital Outreach Team. Follow the @HouseofCommons on Twitter for updates on the UK House of Commons Chamber.

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