Debate on sitting hours of the House of Commons
12 July 2012
The Backbench Business Committee scheduled a debate on Thursday 11 July 2012 on sitting hours of the House of Commons. Mr Greg Knight applied to the Backbench Business Committee to request this debate.
This debate related to the recommendations made by the Procedure Committee in its recent report "Sitting hours and the Parliamentary calendar".
Motions
Monday
The motion in the name of the Mr Greg Knight stated:
"That no change be made to the time at which the House sits on a Monday"
This motion was agreed without division.
Tuesday
The motion in the name of the Mr Greg Knight stated:
"That no change be made to the time at which the House sits on a Tuesday"
The motion was defeated on division (Ayes 241; Noes 256).
The motion in the name of Dame Joan Ruddock stated:
"That this House should meet at 11.30am on Tuesdays, with a moment of interruption at 7pm, and accordingly the changes to Standing Orders set out in the table be made, with effect from Monday 15 October 2012."
The motion was agreed on division (Ayes 267; Noes233).
Wednesday
The motion in the name of Mr Greg Knight stated:
"That no change be made to the time at which the House sits on a Wednesday"
This motion was agreed (resolved).
Thursday
The motion in the name of Mr Greg Knight stated:
"That this House should meet at 9.30am on Thursdays, with a moment of interruption at 5pm, and accordingly the changes to Standing Orders set out in the table be made, with effect from Monday 15 October 2012."
The motion was agreed on division (Ayes 280; Noes 184).
September sittings
The motion in the name of Mr Greg Knight stated:
"That this House considers that the Government should bring forward motions to provide for the House to sit in September from 2013 onward"
This motion was agreed (resolved).
Private Members' Bills
The motion in the name of Dame Joan Ruddock stated:
"That this House should sit on Tuesdays from 7pm until 10pm to consider Private Members' Bills"
The motion was defeated on a division (Ayes 205; Noes 228).
Watch the debate and read a transcript
Watch the debate on Parliament TV and read the views expressed by MPs in Commons Hansard.
- Parliament TV: Debate on sitting hours of the House of Commons
- Commons Hansard: Sittings of the House
Read the Procedure Committee report
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