Decisions of the Petitions Committee Tuesday 26 March 2019

The Committee considered all e-petitions which had reached over 100,000 signatures, and those over 10,000 signatures which had received a government response, by Friday 22 March.

Petitions which met these criteria after this date will be considered at the Committee's next meeting on Tuesday 2 April.

Petition debates

A debate relating to leaving the EU:

• Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU
• Hold a second referendum on EU membership
• Parliament must honour the Referendum result. Leave deal or no deal 29/03/19

The Committee decided to schedule a debate in Westminster Hall on the motion “That this House has considered e-petitions 241584, 235138 and 243319 relating to leaving the EU” on Monday 1 April at 4.30pm.

Catherine McKinnell MP, a member of the Committee, will open the debate.

• Make online abuse a specific criminal offence and create a register of offenders

The Committee decided to schedule a debate in Westminster Hall on the motion “That this House has considered e-petition 190627 relating to online abuse” on Monday 29 April at 4.30pm.

Helen Jones MP, the Chair of the Committee, will open the debate.

Please note this debate was previously scheduled for 1 April 2019.

The first report of the Petitions Committee, Online abuse and the experience of disabled people, HC 759, is relevant to this debate.

Petitions with over 10,000 signatures which have received a government response

• Mandate schools to consult parents before teaching Relationships & Sex Education

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• Put pressure on the Chinese Government over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• People found with a knife to get 10 years and using a knife 25 years in prison

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• Condemn Sudan's use of lethal force vs protests, pressure for democratic change

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• Guarantee the future of state-funded nursery schools after March 2020

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• The Prime Minister should advise Her Majesty the Queen to prorogue Parliament

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• Undertake an independent enquiry into the role of Russia in Brexit

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• Keep CBD on the market as a food supplement

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• Reject Remote Pharmacist Proposals. Keep Pharmacists Present for Patients

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

• Launch an independent enquiry into the health and safety risks of 5G

The Committee noted the Government's response. 

Revised Government responses

• Make grey squirrel rescue exempt from Invasive Alien Species Order 2019

The Committee noted the Government's revised response, and agreed to publish it. 

Public (paper) petitions with government responses

The following public (paper) petitions received a written response from the Government and were noted by the Committee.

• Green Deal Scheme (presented by Patrick Grady MP and Gavin Newlands MP)
• A national carers strategy for unpaid carers (presented by Barbara Keeley MP)
• Save Romiley Greenbelt (presented by William Wragg MP)

Image: Parliamentary copyright