MPs debated accommodation for young people in care
27 January 2015
On Tuesday 27 January, MPs took part in a debate on accommodation for young people in care. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee. The Members in charge for this debate were Graham Stuart, Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, Bill Esterson, Labour MP for Sefton Central, and Craig Whittaker, Conservative MP for Calder Valley.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
The debate was opened by Graham Stuart at 5.04pm. Shadow Education Minister, Steve McCabe, responded to the debate on behalf of the Opposition and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, Edward Timpson, responded for the Government.
- Watch Parliament TV: MPs debate accommodation for young people in care, 27 January 2015
- Read Commons Hansard: MPs debate accommodation for young people in care, 27 January 2015
Motion for debate
MPs debated the following motion:
"That this House notes the Second Report from the Education Committee, Into independence, not out of care: 16 plus care options, HC 259, and the Government’s response, HC 647; welcomes the progress made and the commitment to improve the care provided to these vulnerable young people shown in the Government’s response; regrets that the Government has not gone further by exploring with local authorities how to ban the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for this age group and by moving to inspect and regulate all accommodation provided to children in care; and calls on the Government to do all it can to improve the accommodation and care given to these young people."
Related documents
The following documents were relevant to this debate:
- Second Report from the Education Committee, Into independence, not out of care: 16 plus care options, HC 259, 17 July 2014
- Government response: Second Report from the Education Committee, Into independence, not out of care: 16 plus care options, HC 647, 20 October 2014
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.