Guidance: Money bills

This pamphlet is intended for members of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.

References to Commons Standing Orders are to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons relating to Public Business of 17 March 2026 with amendments up to 22 May 2026.

References to Lords Standing Orders are to the Standing Orders of the House of Lords relating to Public Business of 22 February 2021 with amendments up to 23 April 2026.

References to Erskine May are to Erskine May on Parliamentary Practice (25th edition, 2019, with updates up to 5 July 2026).

Last full update – 22 October 2026 Appendix updated – 22 October 2026

1. Chapter 1 - CERTIFICATION OF BILLS AS MONEY BILLS

1.1. This pamphlet is about the certification of Bills as Money Bills and the provision made about such Bills by section 1 of the Parliament Act 1911.

1.2. The decision whether or not to certify a Bill as a Money Bill is one for the Speaker of the House of Commons (on the advice of the House Authorities). Reasons are not given for the Speaker’s decision, and precedents are not necessarily binding.

1.3. A list of Bills* certified as Money Bills since the enactment of the 1911 Act is in the Appendix. It excludes: (a) Finance Bills which are often, but not always, certified;* and (b) Consolidated Fund and Appropriation Bills, now Supply and Appropriation Bills, which are always certified.

1.4. A Money Bill is something distinct from a Bill of Aids and Supplies.* A Bill can be certified as a Money Bill without being a Bill of Aids and Supplies and not all Bills of Aids and Supplies are certified as Money Bills[footnote 1]*

1.5. Section 1 of the 1911 Act provides that a Money Bill sent to the Lords from the Commons at least one month before the end of a Parliamentary session is to be presented for Royal Assent, even though the Lords have not consented to it, if the Lords have not passed it without amendment within one month of its being sent up to them. The Commons have the power to direct to the contrary.