A Bill to make provision about the approval required for deployment of Her Majesty's Armed Forces by the Prime Minister in the event of conflict overseas
House of Lords
12 May 2016
The Bill would require formal parliamentary approval for deploying Britain’s armed forces overseas in a conflict, replacing part of the Prime Minister’s unilateral use of the royal prerogative. It aims to introduce a parliamentary process for authorising overseas military action, giving Parliament a say before deployments take place.
The Bill is currently at the 2nd Reading in the Lords. It will then move to the Lords’ committee stage for detailed scrutiny, before potentially proceeding to the House of Commons. As a Lords-originating Bill, if it passes Lords it would go to the Commons for consideration.
Generated 21 February 2026
First reading took place on 9 June. This stage is a formality that signals the start of the Bill's journey through the Lords.
Second reading - the general debate on all aspects of the Bill - is yet to be scheduled.
The 2015/16 session of parliament has ended and this Bill will make no further progress.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
