Valerie Chairs NHS e-Petition Debate in Westminster Hall

On 14 September 2015, I chaired a debate in Westminster Hall on the motion “that his House has considered the e-petition relating to contracts and conditions in the NHS”. This was in response to  e-petition that received 220,516 signatures. This is the first time an e-petition has been debated in Westminster Hall.

A new e-petitions system was set up in July 2015 which enables members of the public to petition the House of Commons and press for action from the government. Petitions are on the e-petitions website for 6 months and if they reach 100,000 signatures they will be considered by the new Petitions Committee. The Committee will then decide whether more information is required, whether to refer the petition to another Parliamentary Committee or the Government, or whether the petition should be debated in Westminster Hall where 3 hours on a Monday are reserved for debating e-petitions to which the Government must respond.

You can view the full Hansard Transcript of the debate here.