Programme motion
Selected letter
P
A programme motion can be used by the government to timetable a Bill's progress through the House of Commons by setting out the time allowed for debate at each of its stages. The motion is usually put forward for agreement immediately after a Government Bill has passed its Second Reading.
There is no equivalent in the House of Lords where the government cannot limit debating time.
Before the introduction of programming in the Commons, governments could only curtail the debate at a particular stage of a Bill by use of an Allocation of Time (or 'guillotine') motion.