UK Parliament Bills Screensaver

The UK Parliament Bills API describes bills moving through Westminster, each with a short title, the house it currently sits in, a stage and the dates it was last updated. A bill passes through the Commons and the Lords, with a first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage and third reading in each. Once both houses have passed it, it returns to the house where it started so any amendments can be considered, and it can go back and forth between the houses until they agree the exact wording, a process known as ping-pong, before Royal Assent.

Bills come in kinds. Public bills change the general law. A private member's bill is a public bill sponsored by an MP or peer who is not a minister, as opposed to a government bill. Private bills, promoted by outside bodies to gain special powers, and hybrid bills, which mix general and particular effects, are narrower categories. A bill with an [HL] suffix in its title started in the House of Lords.

A bill's presence in the list says only that it is before Parliament. A bill's content can change heavily through amendments. When a parliamentary session ends with prorogation, a bill that has not received Royal Assent is generally lost unless it is carried over, and private members' bills cannot be carried over, so the list changes after each prorogation.