Precedence and Sequence of Business

Introduction

The business of the House is conducted according to an agenda, the Order Paper. The rules and practices of the House determine how and when items from the Order Paper can be called and how motions of various kinds can be moved. Some items of business, for example, are called under certain headings or at a specified time; some motions are moved after notice or under particular circumstances. The Speaker, either on his or her own initiative or prompted by a Member, will usually intervene to check any irregularity in the precedence and sequence of business.

Two major changes to the rules affecting the order of business occurred in February 1986. First, the Standing Orders governing the order in which items of Private Members' Business were to be taken up in the House were substantially amended. At the same time, a 30-minute time limit on division bells was put into the Standing Orders for unscheduled divisions.