College Public Policy

Posted by Chris Lowe on 9 July 2010

One of the changes proposed by the Wright Committee and approved by the Commons was to set up a Backbench Business Committee.  This appears to be a significant change to the procedures of the House for a number of reasons:

1.  The Committee is to be given 35 days per year, (approximately one day a week), on which it can determine the business to be discussed.  This is twice as many as the Opposition gets for its choice of debates.  Of these 35 days, 27 are to be taken on the floor of the House as opposed to Westminster Hall.  The 1.5 hours ‘topical debates’, which could as quarter days, are also within the remit of this Committee.

2. This will give backbench MPs much more opportunity to get issues properly debated.

3. There is hope and expectation among Select Committees that their reports will often be chosen by the Business Committee as a subject for debate, thereby giving them much more prominence.

Natascha Engel, the Labour MP for Derbyshire North East has been elected the Committee’s first Chair, defeating Sir Alan Haselhurst, the outgoing deputy speaker. 

The full list of members is:

Natascha Engel MP (Chair), Labour

David Anderson MP, Labour

Peter Bone, Conservative

Philip Davies, Conservative

Jane Ellison, Conservative

John Hemming, Lib Dem

Philip Hollobone, Conservative

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