As Harold Wilson once said, “A week is a long time in politics.” He wasn’t wrong and by that measure, six weeks is an eternity!
Over the course of six jam-packed weeks, during the UK political party conference season, Excluded’s Tim Pravda the tireless voice and face of the Excluded community for the past five and a half years @ExcludedFighter has been out there doing what he does best: keeping our cause firmly on the political radar.
Tim has travelled hundreds of miles, attending the party conferences of the Liberal Democrats, UK Labour Party, Green Party of England and Wales, and most recently, the SNP in Aberdeen. Along the way, he’s spoken with Zarah Sultana MP, now part of the newly formed Your Party, as well as countless MPs, councillors, journalists, and even a few peers in the House of Lords.
At last week’s SNP Conference in Aberdeen, I caught up with him on the Sunday. Tim was once again in action catching up with BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, and holding valuable conversations with Richard Thomson MP, David Linden MP, passers by, conference delegates even the ShowSec security team and hospitality staff at The Loft. By the time I arrived he was on first name terms with security and hospitality! We both chatted to Chris Law MP for Dundee Central. Many will recognise Chris Law as a member of the Excluded – Gaps in Support APPG {Westminster All-Party Parliamentary Group}, an ally in pushing for accountability and redress. He is also the MP of Excluded Scotland’s Chris Scott.
One suggestion that continues to resonate is the Hillsborough Law the proposed Duty of Candour. This law, designed to ensure honesty and transparency from public authorities, many MPs Tim spoke to believe this could provide a meaningful route to justice for the Excluded. It remains a beacon of hope for those of us seeking the truth, fairness, and long-overdue redress.
Some weeks ago, Dr Manuela Perteghella, the Gaps in Support APPG’s officer, successfully applied for a parliamentary debate on these issues. Yet despite being approved, no date has been set lost in what seems to be a mounting parliamentary backlog. As Tim explains, even Chris Law has been waiting since May for a separate debate to be scheduled. The reason given? Again “a backlog”.
To those of us taking action, that feels utterly absurd. How can such important debates, affecting thousands of lives, be left in limbo? If Parliament were a business, this level of inefficiency and opacity simply wouldn’t be tolerated. A booking system that opaque and disorganised would have shut down long ago.
But we’re not giving up. The Excluded community is nothing if not persistent. Six weeks in politics might feel like a lifetime but for those still waiting for justice, it’s yet another reminder of why we keep pushing.
To this end, Excluded Scotland have submitted an FoI asking what’s occurring! Pasted verbatim below.
Dear Office of the Leader of the House of Commons,
Background
I understand that there is a ‘backlog’ of debates waiting to be heard in the House of Commons. One that I know of was requested and accepted in May. The proposer was told ‘there is a backlog’ and to date no date has been given for that debate to be heard / take place. Further to this, I know of another debate which was accepted a couple of months ago and unsurprisingly is in the same position.1.How many debates are waiting to be allocated a hearing date in The House of Commons?
2. Given of the number of debates waiting to receive a date to be heard, {as given in response to my first question above} roughly how long will it take to clear that backlog – best case / worst case timeline?
3. Why are debates not simply scheduled on the next available date, regardless of how far into the future the next available date is?
This would positively impact expectation and transparency.
This was been accepted
Our ref: FOI2025/XXXXX
Thank you for your request for information which was received on 13th
October. Your request is being handled under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’).The Act requires that a response must be given promptly, and in any event
within 20 working days. We will therefore aim to reply at the latest by
10th November 2025.
We will update as soon as we have news.
Tim took some time to explore beautiful Scotland arriving in the Highlands yesterday.
Chatting into the small hours of this morning led Excluded Scotland to write MP Jamie Stone who recently joined the current APPG for Gaps in Covid 19 Financial Support to ask him to consider adding or supporting an amendment to the Hillsborough Law Duty of Candour to press for the Excluded to be included within its clauses.
Again, we will update when we have news on that.
