Research briefings

This pack has been produced ahead of the Opposition Day debate on Climate Change and Flooding which will take place in the Commons Chamber on Tuesday 15 December 2015. It has been updated to reflect the Opposition Motion published on 15 December.

This briefing provides some background to the Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday at 2.30pm entitled, Access to specialist neuromuscular care and treatments. Cheryl Gillan will lead the debate.

Benefit sanctions will be debated in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 16 December at 2.30 pm. Dr Eilidh Whiteford will lead the debate. This Library briefing provides an overview of how benefit sanctions work and further background information.

A Westminster Hall debate on access to justice in Wales has been scheduled for Tuesday 15 December 2015 at 1630hrs. The member in charge of the debate is Carolyn Harris.

This pack has been produced ahead of the debate on protecting ancient woodland and trees to be held in Westminster Hall on Thursday 10 December 2015 at 1.30pm.

This debate pack has been compiled ahead of the Opposition Day debate on The Effect of the Autumn Statement Measures on Women to be held on Thursday 10 December.

This pack has been prepared ahead of the debate on the exotic pets trade, to be held in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 9 December 2015 at 9.30am. The Member in charge of this debate is Mr Henry Bellingham.

This debate pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on lead shot ammunition to be held in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 8 December 2015 at 4.30-5.30pm. The Member in charge of the debate is Gerald Jones MP

A debate on a motion relating to cross-border cooperation to tackle serious and organised crime is to be held on Tuesday 8 December 2015 in the main chamber. The debate will ask MPs to vote on whether the UK should opt back into the European Council Decisions, known as the Prüm Decisions, which relate to the sharing of DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration information between European police forces.

A debate on marriage registration certificates will be held on Tuesday 8 December at 14.30pm. The member in charge of the debate is Caroline Spelman.

This pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on the use of neonicotinoids on crops: in Westminster Hall on Monday 7 November 2015 at 4.30pm. The subject of this debate has been chosen by the Petitions Committee and will consider e-Petition 104796: Don't kill our bees! Immediately halt the use of Neonicotinoids on crops

This debate pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on Access to medicines for people with cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases, to be held on Tuesday 8 December 2015 at 9.30am in Westminster Hall. The Member in charge of the debate is Ian Austin.

There is an Opposition Day Debate on Mental Health on Wednesday 9 December 2015. This Library page provides an overview of funding for mental health and further reading.

This Debate Pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on fisheries policy to be held in Westminster Hall on Thursday 3 December at 1.30pm. The subject for this debate has been chosen by the Backbench Business Committee. This debate pack provides an overview of the fishing industry, fisheries policy and management and details some of the key concerns fishermen may have in 2016 (and beyond) in addition to conservation groups.

Benefit sanctions will be debated in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 2 December at 4.30-5.30 pm. Neil Gray MP will lead the debate. This Library briefing provides an overview of how benefit sanctions work and further background information.

This pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on A tax on sugary drinks in Westminster Hall on Monday 30 November 2015 at 4.30pm. The subject of this debate has been chosen by the Petitions Committee and will consider ePetition 106651: Introduce a tax on sugary drinks in the UK to improve our children's health. Experts believe a tax of just 7p per regular-sized can of soft drink with added sugar could generate £1 billion per year. We believe this crucial revenue should be ring-fenced to support much needed preventative strategies in the NHS and schools around childhood obesity and diet-related disease. The Government responded: The Government has no plans to introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The Government will announce its plans for tackling childhood obesity by the end of the year.

This is a debate pack produced by the House of Commons Library ahead of the debate on service provision in the event of post office closures to be held on Tuesday 1 December 2015 at 4.30pm in Westminster Hall. The Member in charge of the debate is Mr Huw Merriman.

This is a debate pack produced by the House of Commons Library ahead of the debate on the North East Devolution Deal to be held on Thursday 26 November 2015 at 1.30pm in Westminster Hall. The Member in charge of the debate is Mr Nicholas Brown.

This Debate Pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on the future of clean energy investment to be held in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 25 November 2015. The Member in charge is Caroline Flint.

MPs will debate World Prematurity Day in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 24 November at 9.30 am . The debate will be opened by Chris Heaton-Harris. This Library debate pack contains background to the debate, including statistics, press and parliamentary coverage.

A Westminster Hall Debate on the motion, ‘this House has considered UK musicians performing overseas’ has been scheduled for Wednesday 25 November. The member in charge of the debate is Nigel Adams MP, who is also the chair of the APPG on music.

This Debate Pack has been complied ahead of the Backbench Business Debate on Preparations for the Paris Climate Change Conference to be held in the Commons Chamber on Thursday 19 November 2015. Debate packs are produced quickly after the announcement of parliamentary business. They are intended to provide a summary or overview of the issue being debated and identify relevant briefings and useful documents, including press and parliamentary material. More detailed briefing can be prepared for MPs on request to the Library.

A debate on a motion relating to a new cancer strategy has been scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee following a bid from John Baron, Jo Churchill and David Tredinnick. John Baron, Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay will open the debate.

This page contains some background information for the Opposition Day Debate, Further Education scheduled for Wednesday 18 November.

A Westminster Hall debate on personal injury fraud has been scheduled for Wednesday 18 November 2015 at 1430hrs. The member in charge of the debate is Karl McCartney.

A debate entitled Male Suicide and International Men’s Day will be held in Westminster Hall on Thursday 19 November, when International Men’s Day will be observed. This debate pack provides background information on male suicide and International Men’s Day, including statistics, recent policy and parliamentary and media coverage.

Ruth Cadbury secured a Westminster Hall debate on Women on Low Pay, on 18 November 2015, at 9:30am. There will be a digital debate on Twitter, ahead of the Westminster Hall debate. The digital debate will take place on 17 November 2015, from 4-5pm, using #DoDemocracy

This is a Debate Pack for the debate on the ‘Future of the reserve forces’, in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 17 November (9.30am). Debate Packs are collections of parliamentary and other relevant material produced for most non-legislative debates in the Chamber and Westminster Hall, other than half-hour adjournment debates.

For the 9th allotted Opposition Day Debate occurring on the afternoon of Wednesday 4 November, the subject Policing has been chosen.

This page provides background information for the Westminster Hall debate, Regulation of care homes, scheduled for Wednesday 4 November 2015. This debate was initiated by Peter Heaton-Jones MP.

This page provides background information for the Westminster Hall debate, Modern prefabricated housing, scheduled for Wednesday 4 November 2015. This debate was initiated by Damian Collins MP.

This debate pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on the dog meat trade to be held on Thursday 5 November 2015 in the Commons Chamber. This debate has arisen on a Backbench Business Committee motion. The Member in charge of the debate is Robert Flello. Debate packs are produced quickly after the announcement of parliamentary business. They are intended to provide a summary or overview of the issue being debated and identify relevant briefings and useful documents, including press and parliamentary material. More detailed briefing can be prepared for MPs on request to the Library.

A Westminster Hall debate on shared services between police forces and fire services has been scheduled for Tuesday 3 November 2015 at 1430hrs. The member in charge of the debate is Amanda Milling.

Stuart C. McDonald MP (SNP, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) secured a Westminster Hall debate at 4.30pm on Tuesday 3 November 2015. 

This page has been compiled ahead of the Backbench Business Committee debate on the future of the Green Investment Bank and to be held on Thursday 29 October 2015 at 1.30pm in Westminster Hall.

This page provides background to the Backbench Business debate, Distributional Effect of Proposed Reforms to Tax Credits, scheduled for Thursday 29 October 2015.

A Westminster Hall debate on the implementation of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme has been scheduled for Wednesday 28 October 2015 at 0930hrs. The member in charge of the debate is Stephen Kinnock.

A Westminster Hall debate on the BBC’s relationship with the Met Office has been scheduled for Tuesday 27 October 2015 at 1430hrs. The Member in charge of the debate is Mr Ben Bradshaw.

This debate pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on the work of the UK in tackling malaria and neglected tropical diseases to be held on Tuesday 27 October 2015 at 9.30am in Westminster Hall.

A Westminster Hall debate on Young Jobseekers and the Department of Work and Pensions has been scheduled for Tuesday 27 October 2015 at 16:30. The Member in charge of the debate is Ms Chloe Smith. Prior to this Westminster Hall debate, Digital outreach will be holding a debate on Twitter on 27/10/15 between 19:30 and 20:30 using the hashtag #youngjobseekers

An e-petition entitled, ‘Make an allowance for up to 2 weeks term time leave from school for holiday ’ attracted over 100,000 signatures. The Petitions Committee agreed to schedule a debate on the motion “That this House has considered an e-petition relating to term-time leave from school for holiday” in Westminster Hall on Monday 26 October 2015 at 4.30 pm. Steve Double MP will lead the debate.

Outdoor recreational activities contribute significantly to the UK economy. Its core activities are walking (hiking/trekking), climbing and mountaineering and camping, while there is cross-over activity from trail running, mountain biking and snowsports.

A Westminster Hall debate on the motion ‘That this House has considered Black History month’ has been scheduled for Wednesday 21 October 2015 at 1430hrs. The member in charge of the debate is Angela Crawley, the SNP spokesperson for Equalities, Women and Children.

This debate pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on fire safety measures in schools to be held on Thursday 22 October 2015 at 3pm in Westminster Hall. The Member in charge of the debate is Sir David Amess. Debate packs are produced quickly after the announcement of parliamentary business. They are intended to provide a summary or overview of the issue being debated and identify relevant briefings and useful documents, including press and parliamentary material. More detailed briefing can be prepared for MPs on request to the Library.

This is a Debate Pack for the debate on the 'Conflict in Yemen', in Westminster Hall on Thursday 22 October (1.30pm). Debate Packs are collections of parliamentary and other relevant material produced for most non-legislative debates in the Chamber and Westminster Hall, other than half-hour adjournment debates.

This debate pack has been compiled ahead of the debate on the availability of cancer drugs, to be held in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 20 October 2015 at 9.30am. The member in charge of the debate is Jim Shannon MP.

The e-petition, 'Stop allowing immigrants into the UK', uploaded to the Petitions website on 25 August 2015, has attracted over 100,000 signatures and as a result been selected for debate by the Petitions Committee. The debate will be held on 19 October 2015 at 1630hrs in Westminster Hall.