Public Reading is an initiative to give members of the public the opportunity to provide their views on Bills before they are made into law.
The Government has previously run pilot public readings on the Protection of Freedoms and Small Charitable Donations Bills – the House of Commons is now running its own pilot on the Children and Families Bill.
Your comments on the Bill will be made available to the Committee of MPs responsible for examining the Bill in detail so that they can take them into account when deciding whether to make changes. MPs will be particularly interested in your comments on the practical implications of specific provisions of the Bill.
Public Reading has been endorsed by Rt Hon Lindsay Hoyle MP, Chairman of Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons:
"It is important that Parliament seeks to engage directly with members of the public whose lives will be affected by the laws that we pass. The House’s pilot of public reading is an exciting new opportunity for us to reach out to a wider cross-section of society and encourage more people to connect with Parliament during the legislative process. I would encourage people to use this opportunity to give us their views about proposed changes to the law."
The Public Reading for the Children and Families Bill will close on Tuesday 26 February to allow time for your comments to be collated and made available to MPs on the Bill Committee.