What is a Ten Minute Rule Bill?

Publications / Guides

What is a Ten Minute Rule Bill?

Debate in the House of Commons Chamber, 31 January 2022. (©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor)

Ten Minute Rule Bills are essentially policy aims put into legislative language in order to secure a 10-minute speaking slot during 'primetime' in the House of Commons Chamber after Question Time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (but not on Budget day).

Last updated: 4 May 2022 Under Standing Order No.23, MPs may move a motion to bring in a Ten Minute Rule Bill (TMRB) by giving notice to the Public Bill Office between five and 15 sitting days beforehand.

However, under Standing Order No. 14(11), notice of a motion for a TMRB cannot be made until after the fifth Wednesday of the session, in order to protect the priority given to Ballot Bills on PMB sitting Fridays (the fifth Wednesday being the day usually set aside for First Reading - introduction - of Ballot Bills).

Only one TMRB can be presented each day. The opportunities are allocated by the Whips with slots divided up between the parties according to their share of representation in the House.

The MP moving a 10 Minute Rule Bill is permitted 10 minutes to make his or her case, after which a Member opposed to the bill has a similar amount of time to state his or her objections. Interventions are not permitted.

If no MP indicates to the Speaker that they wish to oppose the bill then it is introduced without a vote.

If an MP does oppose the bill, then, following the two speeches, the Speaker will put the Question (whether the MP should have leave to bring in the bill). If no MP objects, then the bill is introduced without a vote. But if an MP objects (by saying 'No') then a vote will be required. In the event of a vote, the MP promoting the TMRB must provide the names of two tellers (MPs who count the votes) for the 'Aye' lobby.

If the House supports the bill then the MP promoting it must go to the bar of the House with a 'dummy bill' (provided by the Public Bill Office), bow towards the Speaker's chair, walk five paces and bow again, before bowing a third and final time before the ceremonial Mace. He or she must then present the 'dummy bill' to the Clerk at the Table.

The Clerk will read the short title of the bill and the Speaker will ask the MP "2nd Reading what day?" The MP will give the day (s)he has chosen and the 10 Minute Rule Bill will then be added to the queue of other Private Members' Bills listed for debate on that day.

The bill need not be printed - if an MP is primarily interested in achieving publicity for the issue through their speech in the Chamber then they are unlikely to go to the trouble. However, if the bill is not printed before Second Reading then it cannot progress.

Realistically, there is rarely time for TMRBs to be considered beyond their introductory stage. Few TRMBs become law, but they are a useful mechanism to enable MPs to generate debate about an issue and to test the opinion of the House on a subject.

Cite this

Hansard Society (2022), Guide to Private Members' Bills, (Hansard Society: London)

Latest / Highlights

News / 101 resolutions and a Finance Bill. How the Budget becomes law - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 117

It’s Budget week, so we look at what happens after the Chancellor sits down and how the days announcements are converted into the Finance Bill. We speak to Lord Ricketts, Chair of the European Affairs Committee, about whether Parliament is prepared to scrutinise the “dynamic alignment” with EU laws that may emerge from the Government’s reset with Brussels. And we explore the latest twists in the assisted dying bill story, where a marathon battle is looming in the New Year after the Government allocated 10 additional Friday sittings for its scrutiny. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Publications / Budget 2025: Letter to Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds MP calling for an ‘Amendment of the Law’ motion

The form of the first Ways and Means motion tabled after the Budget – either an Amendment of the Law motion or an Income Tax (Charge) motion – determines how much scope MPs have to propose amendments when the Budget is translated into the Finance Bill. An Amendment of the Law motion provides broader scope for amendment and was standard practice until it was unilaterally dropped by the then Government in 2017. We have written to the Chief Whip urging the restoration of this procedural practice so that MPs can properly fulfil their constitutional responsibility to scrutinise the nation’s finances and ensure that consideration of the Finance Bill is a genuinely political debate, not merely a technical exercise.

News / Is the House of Lords going slow on the assisted dying bill? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 116

In this episode we look at the latest Covid Inquiry report addressing the lack of parliamentary scrutiny during the pandemic and the need for a better system for emergency law-making. With the Budget approaching, we explore how the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, might discipline ministers who announce policies outside Parliament and why a little-known motion could restrict debate on the Finance Bill. Sir David Beamish assesses whether the flood of amendments to the assisted dying bill risks a filibuster and raises constitutional questions. Finally, we hear from Marsha de Cordova MP and Sandro Gozi MEP on their work to reset UK–EU relations through the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Blog / The assisted dying bill: Is the number of Lords amendments a parliamentary record?

The assisted dying bill has attracted an extraordinary number of amendments in the House of Lords, prompting questions about whether the volume is unprecedented. This blog examines how its amendment count compares with other bills in the current Session, and what the historical data shows about previous amendment-heavy legislation.

Blog / The assisted dying bill: Will it run out of time? The parliamentary options explained

Over 1,000 amendments have been tabled to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Lords. This blog examines the progress of the Bill at Committee Stage in the House of Lords so far, explores the likelihood of a procedural impasse and what options exist if more parliamentary time is needed.