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Government Bills: Impact Assessments

Leader of the House written question – answered am ar 17 Ionawr 2025.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Richard Holden Richard Holden Opposition Whip (Commons), Shadow Paymaster General

To ask the Leader of the House, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that all Departments publish impact assessments to Bills when they are published at first reading.

Photo of Lucy Powell Lucy Powell Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons, Chair, Modernisation Committee, Chair, Modernisation Committee

The Government is committed to ensuring Parliament has the information it needs to hold the Government to account and to understand the impact of legislation. When a bill is published the Explanatory Notes include information regarding any financial implications.

I have written to all members of Cabinet regarding their ministerial responsibilities to Parliament. Best practice guidance is also provided to departments through the Cabinet Office Guide to Making Legislation, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-making-legislation.

Published impact assessments, including their date of publication, are available on the Parliament website (https://bills.parliament.uk/).

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Bills

A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.

Cabinet

The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.

It is chaired by the prime minister.

The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.

Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.

However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.

War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.

From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.

The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.