Along with all other MPs, Mark has been elected by the people of his constituency to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons, London. When Parliament is 'sitting', Mark spends the majority of his time working in Westminster, raising issues affecting his Constituents, attending debates, voting on new laws, sitting on committees, attending meetings and many other activities.
DEBATES
Mark will spend a lot of time attending debates in the Chamber of the House of Commons, when he will sometimes speak on behalf of his Constituents, as well as listening to the contributions made by other MPs. Debates are often about proposed new laws, but may be more general, or about a key current issue affecting the country.
QUESTION TIME
Mark can ask questions of Ministers during question time. He can only ask a question to the Prime Minister if he gets a place to do so in the weekly ballot of MPs, so this only happens once in a while.
WESTMINSTER HALL DEBATES
Mark is also often in Westminster Hall, which is the second Chamber of the Commons, where there are often debates on local issues, sometimes led by himself, or else by other MPs with constituencies in the area. If Mark wishes to organise a Westminster Hall debate, then he must send the proposed subject into a ballot, according to which Government Department is holding debates on any particular day.
RAISING ISSUES
Mark attends meetings in Westminster and nearby Government buildings with Ministers, officials from Government Departments and representatives of other bodies. This allows him to raise issues that are of concern to Constituents and other matters of policy and practice.
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS
Mark is able to put Parliamentary Questions to Ministers, which will result in an oral or written answer, all of which are published. This can be used to obtain information from Government Departments, or to bring important matters to the attention of the relevant Ministers. He has submitted a number of questions already since being elected in May.
Mark's role in Parliament
