Educational outcomes for disadvantaged boys and young men
Share your insights for a Parliamentary debate
Deadline: Monday 2 February
"Across every age group, boys perform less well than girls on most major educational indicators.* Beginning with a gap in school readiness, girls are 7% more likely to have expected levels overall for English reading, writing and maths upon leaving primary, while young women are around 14% more likely than young men to attend higher education.**
"The situation is worse when socio-economic, geographic and ethnic factors are considered. For example, in 2023-24 only 41% of boys on free-school meals achieved a grade 4 in English and Maths. This debate aims to raise awareness of this issue and discuss what we can do to give disadvantaged boys more chance of success."
*Data from the academic year 2023-24, Attainment and engagement of boys in education, House of Commons Library
** Data from 2022-23, Attainment and engagement of boys in education, House of Commons Library
Deadline: Midday, Monday 2 February.
How to watch the debate:
Links to watch the debate and read the transcript will be added to this page as soon as they are available from 3 February.
How your contributions are shared
In these exercises, members of the public who have signed relevant petitions or are subscribed to parliamentary newsletters are invited to share their experiences and ideas.
These are passed on to the MP leading the debate, who may refer to them directly in their speeches.
Find other petitions on the Petitions website.
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for more opportunities to share your experiences for debates like these.
What happens next?
If you shared your email in the survey, we’ll send you an update after the debate with links to watch it and read the transcript. This will also include information about the Government's response.
What is a Westminster Hall Debate?
Jump to our full explainer ⬇️
Parliamentary resources
House of Commons Library
Relevant research:
- Debate pack: Attainment and engagement of boys in education (July 2025)
- Debate pack: International Men’s Day 2025 (November 2025)
- Higher education student numbers (January 2026)
Relevant Committee inquiries
What are Westminster Hall debates?
Westminster Hall debates enable backbench MPs from any party to raise an issue, and receive a response from the government.
They do not involve a vote on a particular action or decision.
Instead, the aim is to:
- raise awareness of an issue, often as part of a wider campaign
- seek to influence government policy
- put the views of backbench MPs, opposition parties, and the government on record.
The setting
Westminster Hall debates happen in the Grand Committee Room — the second chamber of the House of Commons.
Here, MPs sit in a horseshoe shape. This can help to encourage a constructive atmosphere.
Chairing the debate
Westminster Hall debates are chaired by an MP. The role of the Chair is to:
- ensure debates keep to the time allocated
- call on MPs to speak
- make sure MPs follow the rules of debate.
To mark the start of the debate the Chair says:
"Order, order"
Opening the debate
The MP leading the debate makes the first speech.
They will generally:
- outline their views on the issue
- present examples
- in some cases, call on the government to take action.
Backbench speeches
After the opening speech, other backbench MPs take turns to speak in the debate.
The main opposition parties
For longer debates, the main opposition parties then have a chance to respond.
An MP from the third largest party generally goes first, and is followed by an MP from the official Opposition.
They outline their party’s position on the issue.
The government's response
The Chair then calls the Minister to respond to the debate on behalf of the government.
The Minister will generally:
- respond to concerns raised by MPs
- explain the government's position and policies
- share relevant plans or ambitions for the future.
Closing the debate
If there is enough time, the MP who opened the debate can make final comments.
The debate is then concluded.
Engaging with debates
- You can contact your MP and ask them to attend a debate. Or you can ask them to lead their own debate on an issue you feel is important.
- For some debates, you may be asked to share your insights and experiences. This can help inform the MPs taking part in the debate. See the Chamber Engagement website for details.
- You can watch debates online, read the transcripts, or attend in person. Find out what's on by looking at the Parliamentary calendar.
Lisa, Ian and Charlotte helped inform previous debates on topics like the menopause and pensions advice:
For more on Westminster Hall debates, see How Parliament Works.
Photo credit: UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor
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