Hybrid Bills, such as that for Crossrail and now
prospectively those for HS2, follow a distinct process before the
UK Parliament. They provide a special means of authorising major
infrastructure projects as well as providing the basis for
legislating on other matters which affect particular private
interests.
Hybrid bills affect particular interests differently from the
population at large or other person or bodies in the same category
or class. As such, they share some of the features of conventional
public bills such as the annual Finance bill but also many of the
features of private bills. In consequence, they are required to
proceed as a cross between a public and a private bill (hence the
designation 'hybrid'). Private bills are those bills
promoted by outside interests (so not by the Government or an MP)
and usually for a local purpose. Private bills were the means by
which much of our Victorian infrastructure, public health and local
government arrangements
