Be sent north in time for discussion (6)
I believe the answer is:
debate
'for discussion' is the definition.
(debate is a kind of discussion)
'be sent north in time' is the wordplay.
'be sent north' becomes 'eb' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'time' becomes 'date' (date is a kind of time).
'eb' inserted within 'date' is 'DEBATE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for debate that I've seen before include "Formal discussion through argument" , "Discuss with opposing arguments" , "Exchange of views" , "Hold public discussion about" , "Argue the toss" .)