Debate on contribution of women to ordained ministry of Church of England
20 March 2014
On Thursday 20 March, MPs took part in a general debate on the contribution of women to the ordained ministry of the Church of England in Westminster Hall. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee following representations from Caroline Spelman.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
This debate was opened by Caroline Spelman at 1.30pm in Westminter Hall.
- Watch Parliament TV: Debate on the contribution of women to the ordained ministry of the Church of England
- Read Commons Hansard: Debate on the contribution of women to the ordained ministry of the Church of England
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.