Westminster Hall debates

E20104

Westminster Hall debates are secondary parliamentary proceedings in the UK House of Commons where MPs discuss a wide range of issues in a less formal, non-voting forum than the main chamber.

Aliases (1)

Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf UK parliamentary procedure
parliamentary proceeding
access open to the public in the gallery
broadcastBy Parliamentlive.tv
chair Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons
member of the Panel of Chairs
chamberType secondary debating chamber
city London
country United Kingdom
decisionMaking no amendments to bills voted on
no legislative decisions taken
governingLaw Standing Orders of the House of Commons relating to Westminster Hall
hasCharacteristic backbench-focused
less formal than main chamber
no formal divisions
non-voting forum
time-limited debates
topic-based debates
introducedBy House of Commons Modernisation Committee recommendations
language English
legislativeBody House of Commons
locatedIn Palace of Westminster
Westminster Hall
meetingFrequency regular sitting days when the House is in session
origin United Kingdom Parliament reforms of the late 1990s
outcomeType expressions of opinion
ministerial responses
participants Members of Parliament
partOf House of Commons of the United Kingdom
purpose to allow MPs to raise issues of concern
to enable discussion without binding votes
to provide additional debating time beyond the main chamber
to scrutinise government policy
recordedIn Hansard
relatedTo Backbench Business Committee
House of Commons main chamber debates
Petitions Committee
rulesOfProcedure Standing Orders of the House of Commons
scheduling parallel to main chamber business
timetabled by the House authorities
startTime 1999
subjectMatter constituency issues
national and international affairs
wide range of public policy issues
topicSelection adjournment debates
backbench business
petitions debates
select committee reports

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit (Parliamentlive.tv)
covers
Standing Orders of the House of Commons ("Westminster Hall sittings")
regulates

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