Speeches by Blackman.

“That is because we are dependent on someone submitting an application. If colleagues do not submit an application, I suppose we can generate an application from within the Committee for particular national days when we may want particular debates. Obviously, the Government quite rightly often decide to have a debate on…”

“No, it could not come out of that. To be straightforward, the problem with the current position is that we would have to make the judgment of Solomon: does the Petitions Committee get time in the Chamber or does another colleague who has a valid request for a debate get time in the Chamber? The time is precious, so we …”

“Technically, at the end of a Session the queue goes into abeyance and we start from scratch. In practice, obviously at the end of a Session we write to the new Committee saying, “There are all these debates in the queue; what do you want to do about them?” We would obviously write to the Leader of the House if general …”

“Sure.”

“To trigger a debate in Westminster Hall, you have to get 100,000 signatures. That is 100,000 people—constituents of all of us—saying, “We want this issue debated; we think this is really important.” One of the problems is what happens to that petition and that subject after the debate has happened in Westminster Hall, …”

“Yes.”

“The assets of the IRGC and the despotic regime in Iran must be sequestrated and brought into use for the people of this country. There are 11 well-known properties—detached houses—owned by this despotic regime that are not used at the moment. They could be used for homeless families and Brits who need somewhere to live…”

“As I say, at times before the last general election, when we were not overwhelmed with applications, members of the Committee would discuss what other issues we might want to raise, and then we would have debates so that we use the time effectively on subjects that the Committee wanted to debate. One of the great thing…”

“Reports suggest that unemployed people who are signing on are getting trained for jobs that do not exist, not for the jobs in the sectors where there are opportunities to work. Will the Secretary of State reform the system so that those who are unemployed and seeking a job are trained to do the jobs that are available?”

“Proscription of the IRGC is long overdue, and I welcome the Government’s commitment to taking the necessary legal action to ensure that happens, but the Minister will be aware that I raised with him a year ago the fact that 13 charities based in this country have been banned in Arab countries. They are directly linked …”

“I thank all members of the Backbench Business Committee for the excellent work they have done over the last year and a half in bringing forward debates and ensuring that Members of all parties get the opportunity to debate the issues that they want to debate, rather than what the Government want to debate. We know that…”

“I thank all members of the Backbench Business Committee for the excellent work they have done over the last year and a half in bringing forward debates and ensuring that Members of all parties get the opportunity to debate the issues that they want to debate, rather than what the Government want to debate. We know that…”

“I thank the Leader of the House for listening to the Backbench Business Committee and the Procedure Committee, and for bringing forward these long-overdue amendments. The Backbench Business Committee was inaugurated when I was first elected to this House in 2010, and the Government of the day refused to listen to those…”

“I regard the hon. Gentleman as my hon. Friend, and he sits on the Committee.”

“I regard the hon. Gentleman as my hon. Friend, and he sits on the Committee.”

“I thank the Leader of the House for listening to the Backbench Business Committee and the Procedure Committee, and for bringing forward these long-overdue amendments. The Backbench Business Committee was inaugurated when I was first elected to this House in 2010, and the Government of the day refused to listen to those…”

“20. What recent progress he has made on implementing the Humble Address agreed on 4 February 2026.[908825]”

“I begin by paying tribute to the late Brian Jones, who died overnight, aged 89, at Northwick Park hospital. Brian was either president or chairman of the Harrow East Conservative Association for 25 years, and he was also my election agent for three general elections. He was a distinguished civil servant who worked on i…”

“I rise to speak about an issue that goes to the very heart of the responsibilities we have as parliamentarians: namely, the duty to protect the most vulnerable people in our society from exploitation, neglect and harm. In 2016, I had the honour of being drawn in the private Members’ Bills ballot. I sat on the Housing, …”

“I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. Clearly, if people are living in tents or are homeless on the streets, they are not getting the support they need to rebuild their lives, which is the key. I introduced the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 to provide the framework we need to bring order, a…”