There may be a welcome sigh of relief from those in the housing market as a date has now been set for the SDLT petition to be heard. It’s on Monday 1 February 2021 at 4.30pm. Elliot Colburn, member of the Petitions Committee, will lead the session. Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, will respond.
The sessions come as sittings in Westminster Hall, the traditional debating Chamber for e-petitions, are suspended and the Government has said it currently has no plans to enable virtual participation. These sessions will allow petitioners’ concerns to be debated by MPs, including those who are shielding, and will be broadcast live on Parliament TV. The Committee held two similar sessions during the closure of Westminster Hall last year.
Ahead of each session, the Petitions Committee will engage with the creators of each petition to better understand their concerns.
The petition, titled ‘Extend the Stamp Duty Holiday for an additional 6 months after 31st March 2021’, has more than 124,000 signatures.
Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the Commons Petitions Committee said:
“I’m delighted we have been able to schedule two e-petition sessions, where Members from across the House, including those self-isolating and shielding, will be able to scrutinise the Government directly on issues raised by petitioners.
“As was the case when Westminster Hall was closed due to Covid-19 last year, we have had to innovate to find ways to hold the Government to account, and crucially to voice the concerns of petitioners in the House of Commons, while our usual debates cannot be held.
“As these petitions demonstrate, there are important issues affecting hundreds of thousands of people that are being missed. Their calls for help and support must be heard.”
The 90 minute virtual sessions will be open to Members from across the House, including those who are self-isolating or shielding. The sessions will be broadcast live on parliamentlive.tv and on YouTube, and a transcript of each session will be published.
The petitions session will be available to watch live on Parliament TV and Parliament’s YouTube channel.
