Debate on expressive arts subjects and the Ebacc

24 June 2016

The Petitions Committee schedules a debate on expressive arts subjects and the Ebacc (English Baccalaureate) following an e-petition which was started on petition.parliament.uk.

Debate

Monday 4 July, 4.30pm, Westminster Hall

The debate, led by Catherine McKinnell MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, is on the motion "That this House has considered e-petition 111731 relating to expressive arts subjects and the Ebacc".

Digital debate

A digital debate on this petition takes place on Twitter on Tuesday 28 June 2016, 4.30pm–5.30pm, on the hashtag #EBACCdebate.

We would like to invite you to share your thoughts and experiences and the questions that you would like raised in the Westminster Hall debate. Catherine McKinnell MP, Member of the Petitions Committee, will be taking part.

This is your chance to get involved with the work of Parliament and have your say.

Why is this petition being debated?

The Petitions Committee has the power to schedule debates on e-petitions in the House of Commons Second Chamber, Westminster Hall. It considers all petitions which receive over 100,000 signatures for debate but may decide to schedule debates for petitions under this threshold.

In deciding which petitions should be debated, it takes into account how many people have signed the petition, the topicality of the issue raised, whether the issue has recently been debated in Parliament, and the breadth of interest among MPs.

What will the petition debate achieve?

Debates on petitions in Westminster Hall are general debates about the issues raised by the petition. MPs can discuss the petition and, if they wish, ask questions about the Government's position on the issue or press the Government to take action. A Government Minister takes part in the debate and answers the points raised.

These debates help to raise the profile of a campaign and could influence decision-making in Government and Parliament. Petition debates in Westminster Hall cannot directly change the law or result in a vote to implement the request of the petition.

Creating new laws, or changing existing ones, can only be done through the parliamentary legislative process which involves a number of debates, and detailed consideration of the law in draft, in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords on which individual MPs or members of the House of Lords who are not in the Government (known as "backbenchers") can ask Parliament to consider new laws.

Get involved

Further information

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