MPs to present concerns to Ministers on support for households during COVID-19
16 Sep 2020 12:30 PM
On Thursday 17 September, the Petitions Committee will hold a hybrid e-petitions session to put concerns to Ministers on support for households during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The session, which will be open to Members across the House, follows the Committee receiving a series of popular petitions calling for support for households in light of the pandemic.
Watch the session here from 2.30pm on Thursday 7 September
Read the petitions to be discussed:
The Westminster Hall-style debate will be held in one of Parliament’s committee rooms, with the option of participating via video-link, and will give Members across the House the opportunity to debate and question Government Ministers on the issues being raised by petitioners.
Ministers attending to answer questions will include Luke Hall MP (Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government), Will Quince MP (Minister in Department for Work and Pensions) and John Glen MP (Treasury Minister).
Chair's comments
Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the Commons Petitions Committee said:
“I’m delighted we have scheduled another Petitions Committee hybrid session, where Members from across the House – including those self-isolating and shielding - will be able to scrutinise the Government directly on support provided to households during this pandemic.
“Innovations like this underline the importance of finding ways to hold the Government to account, and crucially to voice the concerns of the petitioners in the House of Commons, while our usual debates cannot be held.
“As these petitions, and our report into the impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave demonstrate, many people across the country are not receiving the support they need during the pandemic. Their calls for help must be heard.”
More than 347,000 petitioners have now signed parliamentary petitions relating to supporting households through the coronavirus crisis, as the Government continues to adapt the support system being offered across the country.
The session comes as the Petitions Committee continues to press Government Ministers on their response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Hybrid e-petitions sessions have been devised as sittings in Westminster Hall – the traditional debating Chamber for e-petitions – are still suspended as part of Parliament’s arrangements for adapting to Coronavirus and ensuring the safety of people on the Estate. Westminster Hall debates are anticipated to resume from 5 October.
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