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Select OPC amendments from the ‘Amendment Manager’ and use “Amendment Actions > Apply Amendments”
Select ‘Create a new version’ if you haven’t started making any changes to the bill version before applying these amendments;
Select ‘Update existing version’ and select the appropriate version if you have already started making changes to the bill (see warning above)
Open auto-applied version:
Review tracked changes looking for:
any obvious printing points (you can change the text inside the tracked changes - or outside the tracked changes and these changes will be kept when you accept all applied amendments); and
locked nums that should not be locked (see the purple note panel warning below for more information on locked nums in amendments)
Check for any new Document Check messages
If any have appeared, it suggests that one of the accepted amendments didn’t work correctly. Report any issues to the Lawmaker Support Portal and correct the data manually (e.g. by deleting the badly applied amendment and manually applying it)
Check Review r-h panel for any amendments needing manual intervention. Go through them one-by-one:
Some messages warn you that the amendments were applied but need checking e.g. if there was more than one paragraph being inserted by different amendments in the same place, the warning message is asking you to check the sort order;
Some messages warn you that a certain amendment couldn’t be applied; in this case, open up the specified amendment in a temporary list and check for any obvious mistakes e.g. page-line information or whitespace at the end of the instruction if it’s inserting new provisions. If you cannot fix the amendment, right-click in the quoted structure and select “Copy content of quoted structure” and manually paste it in the correct location.
Delete the warnings that you’ve dealt with as you go so you can keep track of which issues you have resolved.
Renumber the whole document (see also Finalising a document for a time-saving alternative method for big bills - which includes updating x-refs and re-inserting front/back covers)
Update x-refs on the whole document
Check ‘Document Checks’ for cross-reference warnings e.g. cross references to provisions that have been removed through applied amendments.
If you find a Document Check warning, click on the card in the ‘Document Check' right-hand panel and it will jump to the bad cross-reference. Right-click on the cross reference and select ‘Remove x-ref tag’ and then manually correct it (see To create cross references for more information)
Update Document Information: bill number, version rubric, printing dates (see also Updating document information from project tab for a time-saving alternative method for big bills)
Re-insert front & back covers/table of contents as necessary
Generate a PDF (select line numbering)
Send the PDF for checking
At the end of the stage, repeat all the steps above for any opposition amendments that were later agreed to. This time, when applying amendments in step 1, select to update an existing version (the as amended version you have been working on)
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When checking auto-applied amendments, you may need to remove the lock on newly inserted provisions. See How to use locked nums in UK amendments for more information on why you need to remove locks on nums when amendments are applied. |
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Locked Nums in amendments
Locked nums are indicated by the dotted box surrounding a provision’s number. Locking a number is a way of preserving the provision’s number when the amendment has been applied. There are a few scenarios to be aware of with this rule:
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If the num is empty (ignoring parentheses inside paragraph, subsection etc. nums) and the num is locked, then the lock is ignored. Upon auto-application, the lock will be removed and a number will be assigned to the provision using the auto-assign numbering rule
For example: inserting a new subsection between subsections (4) and (5), when auto-applied, it will be assigned (4A) and the num is no longer locked
When the document is renumbered, this auto-assigned number will be renumbered to (5) and all subsequent susbections in the clause updated as well.
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If the num has been specified and the num is locked, then the lock is preserved. Upon auto-application, the lock will remain and the number doesn’t change
For example: inserting a new subsection (A1) before existing subsection (1); when auto-applied it will remain as (A1) and the lock will remain also.
When the document is renumbered, the number will not change
If the num is empty OR the num has been specified and the num is not locked, then upon auto-application, a number will be assigned to the provision using the auto-assign numbering rule
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For example: inserting a new subsection between subsections (4) and (5), when auto-applied, it will be assigned (4A)
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