Speeches by Blackman.

“That is because we are dependent on someone submitting an application. If colleagues do not submit an application, I suppose we can generate an application from within the Committee for particular national days when we may want particular debates. Obviously, the Government quite rightly often decide to have a debate on…”

“Sure.”

“Of course. One thing that I do want to say is that I think the Chair of the Procedure Committee has written to this Committee in relation to what we do about Select Committee statements, and I think those suggestions are really quite valid. You mentioned, of course, defence debates, and the Defence Committee has produc…”

“Yes.”

“Yes. We would like to be able to grant topical debates. One reason why I say that we could potentially have three debates on a Thursday is that two of them could be scheduled in advance and then in our meeting on a Tuesday we would then consider topical debates which could be granted for the Thursday, or alternatively …”

“Well, yes, but in practical terms not really. It would be end-of-day business more than anything else.”

“The problem is that we get five applications a week on average, which then build up over periods of time. When the Backbench Business Committee began, colleagues went in front of the Committee to make their application, and they were either granted the debate or they had to reapply—that was it. The drawback of that was…”

“It is a way for the Petitions Committee to get a debate in the Chamber. Personally, I have no objection to the Petitions Committee getting time in the Chamber, as long as it does not come off our allocation. These big petitions with large numbers of MPs who wish to debate them should get time in the Chamber; obviously,…”

“Colleagues, when they are presenting, often say they want a debate in the Chamber because it has greater focus, greater attention and more popularity, and of course it is screened out to the waiting world. Westminster Hall tends to be a second choice for colleagues. We promote it, both because of the timing and because…”

“The drawback would be that fewer people get to speak or people make shorter speeches. You would have to weigh the options. On Thursdays, almost inevitably, we already have a time limit on speeches. Nominally, the debates are supposed to be three hours, but in my experience we have never, ever had three-hour debates; th…”

“As I said at the beginning—I obviously accept that you were a bit late—we have a queue of applications that, for the Chamber, takes us through to the November recess, even if we got every single Thursday between now and then. That is the primary issue: people want a debate in the Chamber. Westminster Hall on a Tuesday …”

“Yes. Generally speaking, historically there have been fewer requests towards the end of a Parliament, as Members want to be in their constituencies, but at the beginning of a Parliament, there has more interest from new colleagues who want to get debates on subjects that they want to talk about rather than the ones tha…”

“Our process is that when an applicant comes before us for a Chamber debate, we expect 15 colleagues, evenly split between Government and Opposition parties, to have signed that application and to participate. We monitor those who sign applications and then turn up and actually speak. Funnily enough, the number of speak…”

“As you will probably know, the hon. Member for Strangford is a season ticket holder—rarely does a meeting of the Backbench Business Committee go by when he is not in front of us with an application. In his defence, his applications are interesting and it is really quite important that they are debated. We have a tenden…”

“Proscription of the IRGC is long overdue, and I welcome the Government’s commitment to taking the necessary legal action to ensure that happens, but the Minister will be aware that I raised with him a year ago the fact that 13 charities based in this country have been banned in Arab countries. They are directly linked …”

“Reports suggest that unemployed people who are signing on are getting trained for jobs that do not exist, not for the jobs in the sectors where there are opportunities to work. Will the Secretary of State reform the system so that those who are unemployed and seeking a job are trained to do the jobs that are available?”

“I regard the hon. Gentleman as my hon. Friend, and he sits on the Committee.”

“I regard the hon. Gentleman as my hon. Friend, and he sits on the Committee.”

“I thank all members of the Backbench Business Committee for the excellent work they have done over the last year and a half in bringing forward debates and ensuring that Members of all parties get the opportunity to debate the issues that they want to debate, rather than what the Government want to debate. We know that…”

“I thank the Leader of the House for listening to the Backbench Business Committee and the Procedure Committee, and for bringing forward these long-overdue amendments. The Backbench Business Committee was inaugurated when I was first elected to this House in 2010, and the Government of the day refused to listen to those…”