Backbench business debate on Parliamentary Representation
13 January 2012
The Backbench Business Committee scheduled a debate on 12 January 2012 on a motion relating to Parliamentary representation following representation to the committee by Dame Anne Begg MP.
January 2012 will be the second anniversary of the publication of the final report of the Speaker's Conference on Parliamentary Representation, which recommended that progress in implementing its recommendations, and tackling under-representation of minority groups in Parliament, should be debated every two years.
Watch the debate and read a transcript
The debate took place on Thursday 12 January 2012 in the House of Commons. Watch the debate on Parliament TV and read the views expressed by MPs in Commons Hansard:
- Parliament TV: Motion relating to Parliamentary representation
- Commons Hansard: Parliamentary representation
How the subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business committee following a representation by Dame Anne Begg MP, Chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, at a public meeting of the committee on 13 December 2011.
Listen to the meeting where this debate was decided upon on Parliament TV and read an uncorrected transcript of the session.
- Parliament TV (audio only): Backbench Business Committee Tuesday 13 December 2011
- Uncorrected transcript of representations made on Tuesday 13 December 2011
The final report of the Speaker's Conference on Parliamentary Representation was published on 11 January 2010
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets every week to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject.
The committee then has to decide how to allocate the very limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal; demand always outstrips supply. The committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.