MPs debate early childhood development
30 January 2014
On Thursday 30 January, MPs took part in a general debate in Westminster Hall on the 1001 Critical Days manifesto and early childhood development. The debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee following representations from Andrea Leadsom.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
Andrea Leadsom opened this debate. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, Jane Ellison, responded to the debate on behalf of the Government.
- Watch Parliament TV: Debate on early childhood development
- Read Commons Hansard: Debate on early childhood development
How the subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representation from Andrea Leadsom at the public meeting on Tuesday 15 October 2013.
- Parliament TV: Backbench Business Committee on 15 October 2013
- Transcript of oral evidence heard on 15 October 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.