A petition asking the government to vaccinate all children against Meningitis B has now garnered over 700,000 signatures, and as a result the government will now schedule a debate on the issue. It is the most signed petition in parliamentary history.
Any petition which receives 10,000 signatures automatically requires the government to respond, usually in the form of an open letter. If a petition receives 100,000 signatures or more, the government is then under a duty to consider holding a debate on the petition’s contents.
The campaign was started for two-year-old Faye Burdett, from Maidstone, Kent, who caught the infection and died after 11 days.
The government has now agreed to hold a debate, but before they do, they would like to hear from families who have been affected by Meningitis B, as well as medical experts. You can read the government’s update which was published this morning, below:
The Petitions Committee has agreed to schedule a debate on this petition.
Before setting a date for the debate, the Committee would like the House of Commons to have the chance to hear from some of the families who have been affected by meningitis B as well as from relevant medical experts. This will help to inform MPs taking part in the House of Commons debate.
More details about this will be announced in due course. We will keep you informed about what is happening and how you can get involved.
Thanks,
The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament
We will publish further details as and when they come in.