Debate announced for 31 October

Thursday 31 October in Westminster Hall

• General debate on oversight of the intelligence and security services (Members in charge: Dr Julian Huppert, Mr Dominic Raab, Mr Tom Watson)

Representations received

At its public meeting on Tuesday 22 October, the Committee heard, in addition to the bid from Dr Julian Huppert relating to oversight of the intelligence and security services, representations from:

• Mr Robert Buckland, Charlie Elphicke, Julian Smith for a debate on reform and infrastructure in the water industry and consumer bills
• Fiona Mactaggart for a debate on modern day slavery
• Mrs Madeline Moon, Paul Burstow, James Morris for a debate on police procedures in dealing with mental health issues.

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.

Further Information

• About Parliament: Select Committees
• How the Backbench Business Committee works