UK Business Tools - Ledgerhall

Search Parliamentary Bills

law_bills_search_bills

Read-onlyIdempotent

USE THIS TOOL WHEN searching UK parliamentary bills by keyword, session, house, or legislative stage.

Returns a paginated page of bill summaries (title, originating and current house, current stage, whether it became an Act). AFTER calling, pass a bill_id into bills_get_bill for full detail (sponsors, long title, Royal Assent date).

Authoritative source for UK parliamentary bill status.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`house`	No	Filter by originating house: the House the bill was introduced in, wherever it sits now. Omit (or 'All') for all houses.
`limit`	No	Maximum bills to return in this call. Default 20 keeps responses focused; raise up to 100 for bulk exports.
`query`	Yes	Search term for bill titles and descriptions, e.g. 'online safety' or 'financial services'.
`stage`	No	Filter by current legislative stage.
`offset`	No	Number of results to skip before this page. Default 0 for the first page. Re-call with offset=offset+returned while has_more is true to paginate.
`session`	No	Numeric parliamentary session ID (e.g. 40 = 2024-25, 39 = 2023-24). NOT a year string like '2025'. If you only know the year, omit this and filter the results instead. Omit to search all sessions.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`bills`	No	Matching bills. Use the integer `id` field from any bill to call bills_get_bill for full detail.
`limit`	Yes	Maximum results requested in this call
`query`	Yes	The search term that was used
`total`	No	Total results matching the query across all pages, if the upstream API reported it. None if unknown.
`offset`	Yes	Number of results skipped before this page
`has_more`	Yes	True if more results exist beyond this page. Re-call with offset=offset+returned to fetch the next page.
`returned`	Yes	Number of results actually on this page

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed3 schema fields changedSep 14, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / house / description

Previous value: -"Filter by originating house. Omit for all houses."New value: +"Filter by originating house: the House the bill was introduced in, wherever it sits now. Omit (or 'All') for all houses."

changedInput schema / properties / offset / maximum
```
Previous value: -2000New value: +2147483647
```

addedOutput schema / properties / bills / items / properties / originating_house

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "House where the bill was introduced (what the search `house` filter matches)"
+}

Changed8 schema fields changedJun 14, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / house

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "enum": [
+        "Commons",
+        "Lords",
+        "All"
+      ],
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Filter by originating house. Omit for all houses."
+}

addedInput schema / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "default": 20,
+  "description": "Maximum bills to return in this call. Default 20 keeps responses focused; raise up to 100 for bulk exports.",
+  "maximum": 100,
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "default": 0,
+  "description": "Number of results to skip before this page. Default 0 for the first page. Re-call with offset=offset+returned while has_more is true to paginate.",
+  "maximum": 2000,
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

removedInput schema / properties / params

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": false,
-  "description": "BillSearchInput.",
-  "properties": {
-    "house": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "enum": [
-            "Commons",
-            "Lords",
-            "All"
-          ],
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "default": null,
-      "description": "Filter by originating house. Omit for all houses."
-    },
-    "limit": {
-      "default": 20,
-      "description": "Maximum bills to return in this call. Default 20 keeps responses focused; raise up to 100 for bulk exports.",
-      "maximum": 100,
-      "minimum": 1,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "offset": {
-      "default": 0,
-      "description": "Number of results to skip before this page. Default 0 for the first page. Re-call with offset=offset+returned while has_more is true to paginate.",
-      "maximum": 2000,
-      "minimum": 0,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "query": {
-      "description": "Search term for bill titles and descriptions, e.g. 'online safety' or 'financial services'.",
-      "maxLength": 500,
-      "minLength": 1,
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "session": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "minimum": 1,
-          "type": "integer"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "default": null,
-      "description": "Numeric parliamentary session ID (e.g. 40 = 2024-25, 39 = 2023-24). NOT a year string like '2025'. If you only know the year, omit this and filter the results instead. Omit to search all sessions."
-    },
-    "stage": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "enum": [
-            "firstreading",
-            "secondreading",
-            "committee",
-            "report",
-            "thirdreading",
-            "royalassent"
-          ],
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "default": null,
-      "description": "Filter by current legislative stage."
-    }
-  },
-  "required": [
-    "query"
-  ],
-  "type": "object"
-}

addedInput schema / properties / query

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Search term for bill titles and descriptions, e.g. 'online safety' or 'financial services'.",
+  "maxLength": 500,
+  "minLength": 1,
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / session

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "minimum": 1,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Numeric parliamentary session ID (e.g. 40 = 2024-25, 39 = 2023-24). NOT a year string like '2025'. If you only know the year, omit this and filter the results instead. Omit to search all sessions."
+}

addedInput schema / properties / stage

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "enum": [
+        "firstreading",
+        "secondreading",
+        "committee",
+        "report",
+        "thirdreading",
+        "royalassent"
+      ],
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Filter by current legislative stage."
+}

changedInput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "params"
-]New value: +[
+  "query"
+]

Changed1 schema field changedMay 30, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / params / properties / session / description

Previous value: -"Parliamentary session ID. Omit to search all sessions. Session numbers change each year (e.g. 40 = 2024-25, 39 = 2023-24)."New value: +"Numeric parliamentary session ID (e.g. 40 = 2024-25, 39 = 2023-24). NOT a year string like '2025'. If you only know the year, omit this and filter the results instead. Omit to search all sessions."

Changed1 schema field changedMay 30, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / params / description

Previous value: -"BillSearchInput with query, optional session/house/stage filters, pagination."New value: +"BillSearchInput."

AddedMay 16, 2026
RemovedMay 16, 2026
First observedMay 13, 2026

TDQS

A4.4/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover readOnlyHint, idempotentHint, and destructiveHint. The description adds value by describing the return content (paginated page of bill summaries with specific fields), the authoritative source claim, and the downstream step. No contradictions with annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Three sentences, front-loaded with the usage directive, and every sentence carries essential information: what it does, what it returns, and how to proceed for more detail. No waste.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given the output schema exists and the schema documents pagination via offset and has_more, the description is largely complete. It covers the return fields and the follow-up tool. It doesn't explicitly mention pagination mechanics, but that is covered in the schema, so the description remains adequate.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so all parameters are already fully documented. The description mentions keyword, session, house, and stage, but these map directly to schema parameters without adding new meaning or usage details beyond what the schema provides. Baseline 3 is appropriate.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb (search) and resource (UK parliamentary bills) with clear dimensions (keyword, session, house, legislative stage). It clearly distinguishes from sibling law_bills_get_bill by noting it returns summaries and pointing to that tool for full detail.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly says 'USE THIS TOOL WHEN searching...' and provides a follow-up action: pass a bill_id into bills_get_bill for full detail. This gives clear context and an alternative, leaving no ambiguity about when to use this tool versus the sibling.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All UK Business Tools - Ledgerhall tools Inspect

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