Westminster Hall debates give MPs a chance to debate local or national issues and to receive a response from a Minister. One and a half hour debates are usually reserved for national issues where a number of MPs will want to speak, while half hour debates give MPs the chance to raise constituency issues. Debates in Westminster Hall tend to be much more topic or issue-focussed than debates in the Main Chamber so are a good way for MPs to raise the subjects that they are particularly concerned about and which rarely have a chance to be debated in the Main Chamber.
Any MP can apply for a Westminster Hall debates and the slots are then allocated via a ballot.
I also have spoken in numerous debates in Westminster Hall about a wide variety of topics, including Bullying in Schools, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Public Funding of the Criminal Bar, Independent Financial Advisors, Legal Aid, Mental Health in Infants, Speech Therapy Services for Children, and the Army and RAF Lyneham.
