Debate on the finances of the House of Commons
13 November 2013
On Thursday 21 November, MPs will take part in a debate on a motion relating to the finances of the House of Commons. The debate was chosen by the Backbench Business Committee following representation from John Thurso
Watch the debate and read the transcript
This is the first item of main business on Thursday. John Thurso will open the debate which is expected to begin around 11.30am.
- Watch Parliament TV: Debate on the finances of the House of Commons
- Read Hansard: Debate on the finances of the House of Commons
Text of Motion
The text of the motion, in the name of John Thurso, is as follows:
“That this House notes the medium-term financial plan for the House of Commons as set out in Appendix A to the First Report from the Finance and Services Committee, HC 754; endorses the intention of the Finance and Services Committee to recommend to the House of Commons Commission a House of Commons: Administration Estimate of £200.6 million; further notes that, in line with the target for the Savings Programme, this is consistent with a reduction of 17 per cent in real terms since 2010-11; and further endorses the intention of the Finance and Services Committee to recommend to the Members Estimate Committee a House of Commons: Members Estimate of £33.3 million.”
How the subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representations by John Thurso for this debate at its public meeting on 05 November.
- Parliament TV: Backbench Business Committee on 05 November 2013
- Uncorrected transcript of oral evidence heard on 05 November 2013
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.
An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.
The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.