MPs debate protecting children in conflict
3 July 2014
On Thursday 3 July MPs debated the matter of protecting children in conflict. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
The debate was opened by Fiona O'Donnell, Labour MP for East Lothian. Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mark Simmonds, responded to the debate on behalf of the Government. Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Kerry McCarthy, responded on behalf of the Opposition.
- Watch Parliament TV: MPs debate protecting children in conflict
- Read Commons Hansard: MPs debate protecting children in conflict
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.