Attendance in Parliament Act 1514

The Attendance in Parliament Act 1514 (6 Hen. 8. c. 16) was an act of the Parliament of England that forbade any member of the House of Commons from departing before the end of a session without the Speaker's licence, on pain of forfeiting the wages which were then payable by his constituency.^[1]

Monarchs in England had long desired to have a full parliament (plenum parliamentum).^[2] In the 16th century, serving in Parliament was viewed primarily as an onerous duty rather than a desirable privilege. Members of Parliament often tried to reduce their attendance time, attempting to leave early to save their constituents several weeks' payment.^[1]

The act proved largely ineffective in achieving its intended purpose of ensuring parliamentary attendance. Its method of penalizing absent members by forfeiting constituency-paid wages became irrelevant when the practice of paying members ceased during the 17th century.^[1]

Alternative disciplinary measures emerged over time. "Calls of the House" - a system that fined members who failed to respond when the roll was called at a specific time - replaced the act's approach but eventually became obsolete by the 19th century.^[1]

The whole act was repealed by section 1(1) of, and group 2 of part XI of the schedule to the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993, having long been obsolete.