Minister ‘blocking e-petition debates’

The e-petitions website has “falsely raised expectations” that MPs will debate issues close to the public’s hearts, an MP said yesterday.

Natascha Engel, chairwoman of the back-bench business committee, said ministers were trying to avoid the “headache” of debating controversial issues which had attracted 100,000 votes on the government website. Her committee was authorised to schedule time for the debates, but she claims she has not been given parliamentary time.

She currently has three e-petitions awaiting debate, including the government’s decision to switch pension indexing from RPI to CPI, immigration and the circumstances surrounding the death of a Hillsborough victim.

She said now would be the perfect time to hold the debates. But Commons leader Sir George Young was “bed-blocking” important debates by selecting relatively uncontroversial issues, Ms Engel said.