E-petition debate on CPI/RPI pensions uprating
2 March 2012
In response to an e-petition MPs debated a motion relating to CPI/RPI pensions uprating. John McDonnell MP appeared before the Backbench Business Committee to request this debate
The Committee heard this was an issue of public interest and the e-petition 'Public and Private Pension Increases change from RPI to CPI' had received over 100,000 signatures. The Committee also heard that this subject was unlikely to be debated through any alternative route.
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 CPI/RPI pensions uprating
- Commons Hansard: Debate on CPI/RPI pensions uprating
How this subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representations by John McDonnell MP on Tuesday 21 February 2012. Watch the meeting where this debate was decided upon on Parliament TV.
E-Petitions
E-Petitions which have collected more than 100,000 signatures on the Government's e-petitions website are sent to the House of Commons. The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons checks the petition against the terms and conditions for e-petitions and the rules of the House of Commons.
The Backbench Business Committee can only consider an e-petition for a debate if an MP comes to make a case for the subject to be debated.
- E-Petitions and the Backbench Business Committee
- E-Petition: Public & Private Pension Increases - change from RPI to CPI (external site)
- HM Government's e-petitions website (external site)
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets every week to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject. This includes subjects suggested by constituents where there is no e-petition, or where there is a traditional paper petition.
When considering petitions, the Committee will follow its usual procedure of hearing a sponsoring Member or Members of Parliament making the case for a debate.
The Committee will only be able to schedule a debate on a petition if several Members of Parliament tell the committee that they will take part in the debate. 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.