Health & Social Care
44mentions · last 12 months↓
View full analysis →The Backbench Business Committee manages parliamentary time and debating opportunities for backbench Members of Parliament in the House of Commons. Operating as a select committee, it allocates slots for debates on issues selected by backbenchers rather than government, allowing MPs to raise constituent concerns and public matters outside the main legislative agenda. The committee takes oral evidence from members and witnesses on subjects it prioritises for debate. Recent focus areas have included water industry regulation, considered in April 2026, alongside multiple health topics spanning MS support, vaccination uptake, cancer inequality, dentistry provision, and HIV/AIDS awareness. The committee has also facilitated debates on social and economic issues including rural banking access, fly-tipping enforcement, fracking policy loopholes, and older people's experiences in conflict zones, demonstrating its role in surfacing diverse backbench priorities across health, environment, and constituent welfare.
19 sessions published in the last 12 months
Click any cell in the heatmap to see the sessions held that day and the insights extracted from them.
159 insights
07 Jul 2026
The committee heard five applications for parliamentary debate time. The most substantive policy issues raised were the Milburn review on young people and work, reform of press regulation after Leveson, sepsis awareness and the Government’s promised modern service framework, NHS support for patients with learning disabilities, and access to stroke services in remote areas. Witnesses and members pressed for cross-party debate on systemic failures in employability support, media accountability, avoidable deaths and specialist service shortages, while also highlighting government commitments or expectations on sepsis and thrombectomy access.
30 Jun 2026
The Committee heard three applications for debates. Jim Shannon pressed for a debate on mandatory safeguarded 24/7 helipads at major trauma centres, arguing there is no national NHS requirement and that the issue is important for emergency resilience. Luke Akehurst sought a debate on making suicide prevention training mandatory and consistent across fire and rescue services, linking it to rising suicide-related call-outs, firefighter wellbeing and a new fire and rescue college consultation. Chris Webb asked for debate time on VAT policy for hospitality, arguing that the sector supports local economies and jobs but is under pressure; he framed a reduced VAT rate as a live issue while noting the Government’s recently introduced summer savings scheme.
23 Jun 2026
The committee heard four Backbench Business applications. John Milne and Helen Grant sought debate time for the life and campaign of Dr Susan Michaelis, arguing for government support and £20 million over five years for lobular breast cancer research, and noting a previous health secretary had promised funding. Tessa Munt and Gideon Amos pressed for a debate on NPPF changes, warning they would weaken plan-led planning, intensify flood risk and leave homes unmortgageable or uninsurable. Esther McVey and Graham Stringer argued the MHRA is opaque and too slow, especially on Yellow Card reporting and follow-up, and called for stronger parliamentary scrutiny. Ayoub Khan requested a debate on antisocial behaviour, seeking national policy reforms including victim support, specialist courts, easier reporting and more prevention funding.
09 Jun 2026
The committee considered six applications for Chamber or Westminster Hall debates. Substantively, witnesses pressed for debate time on medical misogyny and women’s health funding, Windrush Day and Home Office injustices, leasehold reform and regulation of property managing agents ahead of a promised Bill, unpaid carers and the carers’ allowance scandal, reform of vascular care and NHS accountability, and a cross-party push for a road map to a smoke-free country under the new Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. Several applicants asked for timely slots, often before recess or around key awareness days, and some were willing to accept Westminster Hall if Chamber time proved difficult.
02 Jun 2026
On 2026-06-02 the Backbench Business Committee examined 12 debate applications across a range of issues, from national security implications of biodiversity loss to local concerns about solar farms, the infected blood compensation scheme, commemoration, antisemitism, Father’s Day, green belt protection, health prevention, coastal deprivation, coach industry, and food security. The session highlighted broad cross‑party support for several topics and identified potential department responders (e.g., Home Office for antisemitism, Women and Equalities for Father’s Day, Treasury for coastal isolation, EFRA/Defra for food security). No formal government commitments were announced; witnesses urged timely debates and departmental engagement, with clerks to determine timing and allocation. The focus remains on enabling Parliament to scrutinise urgent policy questions and signal government alignment through future debates.
21 Apr 2026
The Backbench Business Committee discussed a member-submitted request for a Chamber debate on the water industry. Key points: (1) the committee’s view that the debate should relate to areas of Government responsibility and the proposed title should reflect that scope, (2) a procedural note that prorogation affects scheduling and the request will be considered and, if approved, added to the Waiting List, and (3) witness Peter Prinsley raised CSOs concerns about the private ownership of water companies and the health of chalk streams, including references to Channel 4's Dirty Business and the River Gipping, while noting his honorary presidency with the Bury Water Meadows Group. There was no explicit government policy commitment announced in this session.
30 Jun 2026
30 Jun 2026