Public petitions
3.77 Members of the public may petition the House
of Lords, but only a member of the House may present a petition.
Members of the House should give the following guidance to members
of the public who ask them to present petitions on their behalf.
3.78 Petitions to the House of Lords begin:
"To the Right Honourable
the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, The
humble Petition of [names or designation
of petitioners] sheweth".
3.79 The general allegations of the petition
follow. The petition ends with what is called a "prayer",
setting out what the petitioners desire the House to do. After
the prayer are added the words "And your Petitioners will
ever pray &c." followed by the signatures. The petition
may be written, printed or typed on paper. At least one signature
must be on the same sheet as the petition. The signatures must
not be stuck on to the paper. The petition of a corporation should
be under its common seal, which must be affixed to the first sheet.
3.80 Members of the House presenting petitions
should sign them, and either send them to the Clerk of the Parliaments
or hand them in at the Table.[107]
In either case, having notified the Table in advance, they rise
in their place after oral questions and say:
"My Lords, I beg to present
a petition from [names or designation],
which prays that this House will [the prayer is read out]."
3.81 They may add:
"The petition bears X signatures."
but no speech may be made and no debate follows.
3.82 Petitions relating to a public bill may
be presented at any time during its passage through the House.
A petition relating to a bill which has not been before the House,
or which has already been rejected by it, cannot be presented.
3.83 The presentation of a petition is recorded
in the Minutes of Proceedings, and the petition is retained in
the Parliamentary Archives for one year. However, no order is
made for the petition to be printed unless a member of the House
puts down a motion to debate it for a designated day; otherwise
no action follows.
3.84 A member proposing to present a petition
should consult the Clerk of the Parliaments at an early stage.
Messages between the two Houses
3.85 A message is the means of formal communication
between the two Houses. It is used for sending bills from one
House to the other, for informing one House of the agreement or
disagreement of the other to bills or amendments, for requesting
the attendance of staff of either House as witnesses, for the
exchange of documents, for the setting up of joint committees,
to obtain agreement to the suspension of proceedings on legislation
from one session to the next, and for other matters on which the
two Houses wish to communicate.
3.86 Messages to the Commons are taken by a Lords
Clerk and handed to the Serjeant-at-Arms. Messages from the Commons
are brought by a Commons Clerk to the Bar of the House and presented
to the Clerk at the Table. There is no special ceremony for the
arrival of a message, and the business of the House proceeds without
interruption.
60 e.g. the House sat on a Saturday and a Sunday at
the outbreak of the Second World War and in 1982 met on Saturday
to discuss the situation in the Falkland Islands: LJ (1938-39)
383-4, (1981-82) 216. The House attended the State Funeral for
Sir Winston Churchill in St Paul's Cathedral on Saturday 30 January
1965. Back
61
Procedure 3rd Rpt 2003-04. Back
62
The procession consists of a Doorkeeper, followed by the Deputy
Serjeant-at-Arms or Principal Doorkeeper bearing the Mace, followed
by the Lord Speaker. In the Prince's Chamber, Black Rod joins
the end of the procession. Procedure 4th Rpt 2005-06. Back
63
Before a judicial sitting, the Assistant Serjeant-at-Arms bears
the Mace through the Prince's Chamber into the House on the temporal
side, where the Lord of Appeal in Ordinary who is to sit as Lord
Speaker is waiting in front of the Woolsack facing the Throne.
When the Mace arrives at the Woolsack, the Lord Speaker bows to
the Mace, then turns to bow to the Bishop and turns to face the
Throne during prayers. When prayers have been read he takes his
seat on the Woolsack. Back
64
The two Archbishops and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester
do not take part in this rota. Back
65
SO 58. Back
66
SO 15. Back
67
Report to the Leader from the Group on sittings of the House:
HL Paper (1993-94) 83, paragraph 22; Procedure 1st Rpt 2005-06. Back
68
Procedure 3rd Rpt 2003-04. Back
69
Procedure 2nd Rpt 2005-06. Back
70
SO 32. Back
71
LJ (1971-72) 159. Back
72
Procedure 1st Rpt 1969-70. Back
73
See paragraph 5.21 for a full explanation of the times at which
oral questions may be tabled. Back
74
SO 44. Back
75
Procedure 5th Rpt 1966-67. Back
76
SO 43(1). Back
77
Procedure 5th Rpt 1966-67, 1st Rpt 1975-76. Back
78
SO 40. Back
79
Procedure 2nd Rpt 1992-93. Back
80
SO 37, Procedure 5th Rpt 1970-71. Back
81
Procedure 5th Rpt 1970-71. Back
82
SO 42. Back
83
Procedure 1st Rpt 1987-88. Back
84
SO 63, HL Deb. 16 June 1958 col. 892. Back
85
SOs 40, 41. Back
86
Procedure 6th Rpt 2005-06. Back
87
SO 41(6). Back
88
SO 41(7). Back
89
Procedure 2nd Rpt 1958-59. Back
90
Procedure 4th Rpt 1964-65. Back
91
SO 42(3). Back
92
SO 43(3). Back
93
SO 46. Back
94
Adjournments "during pleasure" are breaks in a sitting
for specified or unspecified periods. Back
95
Procedure 2nd Rpt 2006-07. Back
96
Procedure 7th Rpt 1970-71. Back
97
Procedure 4th Rpt 1963-64. Back
98
SO 45. Back
99
Procedure 4th Rpt 1998-99. The Leader of the House advises if
necessary on individual cases of difficulty (Procedure Committee
minutes, 4 April 2000). Back
100
Procedure 6th Rpt 1969-70. Back
101
Evidence Act 1845, s. 3. The Act does not extend to Scotland. Back
102
SO 71. Back
103
Statutory Instruments Act 1946, s. 4, as amended by Sch. 6 to
the Constitutional Reform Act 2005; SO 72. Back
104
Procedure 2nd Rpt 2006-07. Back
105
Offices 4th Rpt 1966-67. Back
106
£50 in 2006. See Handbook on facilities and services for
members. Back
107
SO 75. Back