The government is committed to implementing reforms designed to enhance the role of backbenchers in the House of Commons, Harriet Harman has said.
The Commons leader said MPs are to debate the Wright report on 22 February, before being asked to approve 16 individual resolutions.
Harman told the Commons reform committee that it was not the right time to move forward with proposals for a bankbench committee to schedule non-government debates.
"We're in favour of the notion of a House committee for the non-governmental business but we think it would be best to do that first, try it out and see how it works," she said.
But the Commons leader said the government was not in favour of a backbench committee scheduling government business.
Harman reiterated that there would be free vote on the matter.
When asked why MPs are only being given the time to debate a selection of the Wright proposals, Harman said she was keen to make immediate progress on "big ticket" items with universal support across the Commons.
"We are tabling for the House's approval what we believe there to be a consensus of support on," she said.
"We are not tabling those that we think are not generally supported."
The shadow Commons leader Sir George Young and his Liberal Democrat counterpart David Heath, both told the committee MPs should have the opportunity to debate and vote on all of the recommendations.
Harman said a provisional date of 4 March had been set aside for further debate and votes should MPs raise objections to any of the proposals.
The Conservatives yesterday accused Harman of preventing MPs from voting on many other reforms, alongside the recommendations made by the Wright committee.
Tory frontbenchers tabled a motion to delay the February recess by one day, so that the issues could be considered before MPs break up for more than a week.
