2,484 ingested motions from United Kingdom. Year filters use the introduced date shown on each card. Walk years back as far as this source still publishes.
That this House questions the findings of the FIFA Ethics Committee report into World Cup bidding; notes the objections to the report made by the chair of the investigation, Michael Garcia; expresses deep concerns at the failure to publish Michael Garcia's report in full; calls for this report and all related evidence to be published in full as a matter of urgency; further calls for the publication of the details of all those who refused to co-operate with Michael Garcia's investigation in full or in part; welcomes the decision to refer the matter to the Swiss prosecution authorities and calls for similar referrals to be made to all relevant national enforcement agencies; and believes that unless these actions are taken there will not merely be reputational damage but also potentially damage to the financial viability of FIFA and the international game.
That this House notes that the UK has the highest incidence of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in the world and that incidence is rising; further notes that there are over 8,000 people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer every year in the UK; acknowledges that the survival rate for oesophageal cancer is one of the worst of any cancer, with only 15 per cent survival after five years; further notes that diagnosis for the condition Barrett's oesophagus which can lead to oesophageal cancer is low and that public awareness of the significance of persistent heartburn as a risk factor is very low; welcomes the work of the Oesophageal Cancer Westminster Campaign, a campaign group of patient groups, clinical experts, industry and bereaved families; further welcomes the national Be Clear on Cancer campaign on oesophageal cancer; and calls for the Government and the Department of Health to regard the diagnosis and treatment of Barrett's oesophagus and oesophageal cancer as a national priority to save lives.
That this House notes the introduction of the pilot scheme on 1 December 2014 of the requirement for private sector landlords to conduct immigration checks on their potential tenants; believes that the checks will lead to new fees from letting agents to all of Britain's nine million private tenants on moving to conduct these checks; further believes that almost no undocumented migrants will be caught as they will move into illegal tenancies and in doing so will create a new market for illegal and exploitative landlords; is concerned that the checks will encourage discrimination in the lettings process; further believes that it is morally objectionable to remove from any person access to shelter just as it would be to remove access to water or emergency medical care; and calls on the Government to abandon the scheme immediately.
That this House welcomes the ending of the beer duty escalator and the positive impact of two successive beer duty cuts in the 2013 and 2014 Budgets in supporting the growth of Britain's breweries and underpinning confidence in the UK's pubs; notes that beer duty is now 13 per cent lower than under the tax rises previously planned, a tax reduction that has been popular with pubgoers, leading to an additional 16,000 jobs and in the first six months following the Budget an extra £44 million in investment; and urges the Government to consider a further cut in beer duty in the 2015 Budget which would secure pub jobs, help keep pub pints affordable and support Britain's much-loved pubs.
That this House is deeply concerned that visa decision-making in South Asia is being centralised at the risk of creating poorer service and less effective oversight; notes crucial regional visa hubs such as Mumbai and Dhaka are being downsized, with Mumbai's visa staff reduced from 70 to 20 despite receiving a similar volume of applications to New Delhi; further notes 323,575 visa applications were made in India alone in 2013; recognises the importance of these areas to the 1.4 million people of Indian origin and 300,000 people of Bangladeshi origin in the UK; considers it vital to maintain good relations with India and Bangladesh; and endorses the campaigns launched by Asian Voice and Curry Life Magazine and the two e-petitions to the UK Government which call on the Government to review these regrettable decisions.
That this House notes with gratitude the work Royal Mail carries out all year round and particularly during the period leading up to Christmas; further notes that Royal Mail's competitors are unregulated and, consequently, free to choose what, when and where to deliver; expresses strong concern that companies such as Whistl, formerly TNT Post, regularly fail to deliver hundreds of items on a daily basis in each constituency because they are cherry picking which addresses they find convenient; further notes that this results in additional costs per item as undelivered items of mail are returned to Royal Mail to deliver; further notes that these practices put additional and unfair pressure on Royal Mail revenues, thereby undermining Royal Mail's ability to provide a six day per week service to every household in the UK, the Universal Service obligation; further expresses concern that Royal Mail's competitors frequently pay staff below the living wage and use disreputable employment practices such as zero hours contracts; and calls on Ofcom urgently to investigate this unacceptable situation and take appropriate action to enable Royal Mail to meet its Universal Service obligation.
That this House supports workers at the housing charity Shelter in defending their terms and conditions and the service they provide to clients struggling with bad housing and homelessness; condemns the cuts to pay of up to £5,000 a year already implemented for new staff and threatened for existing staff which primarily affect the lowest-paid frontline service staff; disputes that Shelter must cut pay in order to compete for contracts; notes that the ability of staff to offer an excellent service is Shelter's strongest competitive advantage; further notes that cuts to pay will undermine Shelter's ability to recruit and retain the best staff; and calls on the management of Shelter to withdraw the proposals to cut pay for staff.
That this House notes the proven link between alcohol ingested during pregnancy and a wide range of health defects affecting the child upon birth, including brain damage, heart, kidney and liver damage and developmental problems; commends the work of groups such as the FASD Trust and FAS Aware in raising awareness of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome; further notes that there is no clear evidence that points to a minimum safe amount of alcohol to consume during pregnancy; and calls for a holistic public health strategy focused on early intervention and encouraging no alcohol during pregnancy.
That this House notes that approximately one in 10 children between the ages of five to 16 years old suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder and that 75 per cent of mental disorders emerge before the age of 25 years, about 25 per cent before the age of 12 years; further notes that 40 per cent of teachers leave the profession within five years and that stress is the predominant reason cited for leaving the profession; further notes that where staff turnover is high, lack of stability is likely to have an impact on pupils' learning and the cost is significant; further notes that costs of mental ill health are set to double over the next 20 years and billions of pounds could be saved through emphasis on prevention and early intervention; recognises the solid evidence-base for the reliable impact of mindfulness for adults on many aspects of psychological and physical health and a growing body of work with school staff and young people, showing that mindfulness interventions can have significant impacts in terms of reduced stress, depression and anxiety, increased sense of control, better behaviour, increased social and emotional skills, cognitive skills and performance in terms of focus and attention; believes that all young people and those who work in education, should have access to mindfulness training; and further believes that a Government-funded mindfulness programme will constitute value for money as access will lead to children and school staff being less likely to access costly interventions later.
That this House believes that all adults with a history of depression should have access to Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) because it halves risk of depressive relapse and can reduce health care utilisation and it is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); notes that despite NICE guidance access to MBCT for depression is very patchy and not available at all in some areas; highlights that prevention of depressive relapse through MBCT is particularly pertinent as up to 15 per cent of the population will experience depression during their lifetime; further notes that the World Health Organisation expects depression to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide by 2020; further notes that at least 50 per cent of people with a history of depression have more than one episode and depression costs the UK economy more than £9 billion a year in lost earnings; recognises that there is strong evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for other health conditions, in particular for reducing anxiety and depression for people living with cancer and for helping people to cope better with chronic pain; and calls on the Government to support increased availability to MBCT for people living with depression and to ensure further research funding is made available in areas where mindfulness-based interventions are showing promise for other long-term health conditions.
That this House recognises the work of Electrical Safety First, a charity dedicated to preventing deaths, injuries and damage caused by electricity, to raise awareness of people being put at risk by a new trend in which thousands of potentially dangerous counterfeit products are out on sale on social media; notes that sales of illegal, fake goods on social media have increased by nearly 15 per cent in the last year; further notes that, in the past year, the percentage of counterfeit goods seized by authorities because they posed a threat to people's health and safety has doubled, with the number of mobile telephones seized for this reason increasing by over 50 per cent in the last year; further notes that counterfeit electrical products often contain faulty parts, causing electric shocks, overheating and the ability to catch fire contributing to nearly 6,000 house fires; and calls on the Government to assess and tackle the number of dangerous counterfeit electrical goods being sold on social media in the UK.
That this House condemns the persecution of Christians, particularly in the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine recently where some Christians have been killed or injured; and calls on all relevant authorities to help bring such persecution to an end.
That this House notes that there are people carrying out vital jobs in Premier League football clubs who are paid less than the living wage; further notes that not one Premier League football club has signed up to become a living wage employer nor collected information on how many people working within their club might be on low pay; further notes that some Premier League football clubs choose to pay their players wages of up to £300,000 per week whilst the cleaners, catering staff and security guards working at the club are not paid enough to live on; believes that the Premier League should accept responsibility for ensuring all staff, either directly employed or outsourced, are paid a living wage; calls on the Premier League to immediately gather information on how many people carrying out jobs in Premier League football clubs are paid less than a living wage; and requests club supporters actively to campaign to that end.
That this House notes the important campaign led by People First Keighley and Craven, and Turning Point, to stop drivers of wheelchair-accessible private hire vehicles from charging extra to carry wheelchair users; and urges the Government to bring into force section 165 of the Equality Act 2010, which states that private hire firms which have vehicles that have been designated as accessible by a local authority must carry passengers in wheelchairs without making an additional charge.
That this House calls on the Government to introduce a compulsory register of off-road vehicles; notes that Bradford has a high incidence of anti-social behaviour related to the use of off-road vehicles; acknowledges that quad bikes and dirt bikes are used as weapons to perform acts of anti-social behaviour; appreciates that it is almost impossible for the police to safely tackle inappropriate use of off-road vehicles; also notes that the police are unable to investigate such crimes without suitable identification markers on off-road vehicles being registered; further notes that there is currently a voluntary scheme for off-road vehicle owners to register their vehicles in case they are stolen; welcomes the hard work and dedication of West Yorkshire Police's Quad Squad who do a good job at attempting to tackle anti-social behaviour; also welcomes the argument that compulsory registration would enable the police to access more information in order to identify suspect bikes and make it significantly easier for the police to bring to justice those who are illegally riding their vehicles on public roads; celebrates the fact that this measure would reduce crime and increase safety in neighbourhoods and would encourage off-road vehicle users to use their vehicles legally and responsibly; and calls once again on the Government to introduce compulsory registration of off-road vehicles.
That this House notes the spiralling cost of living in every place in Britain where there is a thriving jobs market, driven by the cost of land and housing; recognises that this has reached a crisis point for many renters; and calls for the Government to give local authorities and the Mayor of London powers to implement rent controls wherever they, accountable to local residents, feel it is the best solution to this crisis.
That this House applauds the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to recommend that the drug eculizumab be used for treating atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS); notes that this life-threatening disease affects around 200 people in England with 20 to 30 new patients diagnosed with the condition each year; and recognises that a petition of 30,000 signatures was presented to the House calling for the use of this drug.
That this House notes that despite the publication of the Bahrain Commission of Inquiry Report in 2011 which chronicled torture and extrajudicial killing regrets that many violations of human rights continue; is shocked that there are 3,000 political prisoners, children in detention, citizenship removed from activists and arbitrary arrests amongst the many violations of human rights independently reported; and calls on the Government to make the strongest possible representations to the government of Bahrain and to refuse all arms and crowd control equipment exports to Bahrain.
That this House welcomes the Government's decision to double the maximum savings limits for employees who save and invest in a Save As You Earn (SAYE) plan to £500 a month from 2014; further welcomes the decision to increase the annual free shares limit in a share incentive plan (SIP) to £600 and the SIP partnership shares limit to £1,800; notes these increases have the potential to help over two million UK employees save and invest more for their own futures; and further notes the important role that not-for-profit organisation IFS ProShare has played in securing this positive change and that parliamentarians from the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Liberal Democrats, Labour, DUP, SDLP and the Conservative Party have all contributed to making this long overdue change a reality.
That this House recognises that insect pollinators are in decline in the UK; acknowledges that this can have a devastating knock on effect for farmers and food production and could lead to increased inflationary pressures on food prices; notes that the Government has committed to rolling out a National Pollinator Strategy in May 2014; and calls on the Government to redouble its efforts to tackle this issue by engaging with environment groups and experts to formulate a strategy for halting the decline in the number of insect pollinators and to rejuvenate numbers in the UK.
That this House welcomes the publication by the Department for Energy and Climate Change of the report, Energy Efficiency Opportunity in the UK, in November 2012 which shows the potential for cost effectively reducing the demand for electricity by 69TWh by 2020, for gas by 74TWh by 2020 and for oil and other fuels by 53TWh by 2020; further welcomes the publication of the report, Electricity Demand Reduction, in May 2013 which showed that a further 32TWh of electricity could be saved by 2030; and so supports the proposals contained in the Energy Demand Reduction Bill for the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to draw up and implement a strategy to achieve those reductions.
That this House welcomes the ending of the beer duty escalator and the impact of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's historic beer duty cut in the 2013 Budget, the first such cut since 1959, in supporting the growth of Britain's breweries and underpinning confidence in the UK's pubs; and urges the Government to sustain this momentum by considering the case for a further freeze in beer duty in the 2014 Budget which would secure over 2,000 jobs in pubs up and down the land and help reduce the cost of living for hard-working men and women.
That this House notes that since 2008 rail fares have risen three times faster than wages; is concerned that these increases have taken place while rail companies have been making substantial profits; further notes that hard-pressed rail passengers, on top of energy and water price rises, are due to face further fare increases in the New Year; and calls for urgent consideration of a freeze in rail fares and service improvements financed by a windfall tax on the profits of rail companies which would be part of a first phase of consideration of returning the railways to public ownership to ensure a better deal for both the taxpayer and fare-payer.
That this House notes that Bombardier in Derby is the UK's last train manufacturing facility; understands that if Bombardier does not win the Crossrail contract then the plant will close and end train manufacturing in the nation that gave the railways to the world; is deeply concerned that the closure of the Bombardier plant would have a devastating impact on the region and supply chain with the loss of existing train manufacturing skills, scores of apprenticeships and at least 10,000 jobs; further notes that the Crossrail contract is co-sponsored by the Mayor of London and Department for Transport; and urges both the Mayor and the Government to do all they can to ensure the survival of UK train manufacturing.
That this House notes the increase in the number of betting shops in deprived areas, that betting shops are currently in the same use class as banks and building societies, allowing them to be opened with no planning consent required for change of use in some cases and that most of the revenue generated from betting shops is now from high reward fixed odds betting terminals rather than from traditional betting on sport and track events; further notes that the Portas Review into the future of high streets describes gaming outlets as a blight on the high street, that their proliferation is creating unsightly gambling clusters on struggling retail hotspots and that in many areas, crime and anti-social disorder has been associated with a proliferation of betting shops; believes that local authorities should be empowered to decide whether or not to give approval to existing and additional gambling venues in their community; and calls on the Government to place betting shops in a new separate planning use class, allowing local authority planning committees to control them and to amend the Gambling Act to allow council licensing committees to take into account the cumulative impact of a proliferation of gambling activities when considering applications.
That this House commends the Steer Clear campaign, which encourages all seasonal revellers either to leave their car at home or to appoint a designated driver; congratulates the Portsmouth News for promoting the campaign and the many pubs that have already signed up, promising to offer a free soft drink to the designated driver in a group of four or more between 6pm and 9pm; encourages the setting up of these initiatives countrywide; and expresses the hope that schemes of this kind will be successful in reducing the level of drink-driving and drink-related road accidents.
That this House believes in the excellent contribution made by sixth form colleges in providing students with a wide range of courses, subjects and an atmosphere akin to that of a university; emphasises the view of the National Audit Office that sixth form colleges are the most successful and cost-effective providers of post-16 education; urges the Government to end the present discrimination against colleges in favour of sixth forms in schools; feels that colleges and school sixth forms should be put on an equal funding basis by the Government reversing its decision to withhold the VAT rebate proposed from colleges and by restoring the cuts which have been made to tutorial and support funding, to enrichment and careers education, as well as the cuts in the overall funding for students over 16 and, now the proposed 17.5 per cent reduction in funding for students aged 18; further emphasises that this vulnerable group of 18 year olds is in a critical year of transition and includes students who have lost time through illness, a change in career plans, students who have had to repeat their level 2 qualifications and students who have been excluded from sixth forms in schools; and points out that the Government's pledge not to cut education budgets is not being honoured by these cuts.
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Criminal Legal Aid (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I., 2013, No. 2790), dated 1 November 2013, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4 November, be annulled.
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Criminal Legal Aid (Financial Resources) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I., 2013, No, 2791), dated 1 November 2013, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4 November, be annulled.
That this House recognises that victims of domestic violence and abuse are being placed at risk when forced to give their safe address in open court in unrelated proceedings; supports Eve's Law to address this dangerous anomaly; further supports Eve's Marker which would red flag the personal information of a victim of abuse as confidential and highly sensitive and would ensure that the data would never be publicly disclosed unless exceptional circumstances demanded it; notes that Eve's Law would protect victims of domestic violence in court on an unrelated matter; further notes that Eve's Law would close an anomaly which may deter victims of domestic violence from reporting abuse; and urges the Government to introduce Eve's Law.
That this House notes the lifting of Transitional Provisions set out in Article 20 and Annexes VI and VII of the European Communities No. 2 (2005) Treaty from 1 January 2014 with reference to the movement of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens intending to work and live in the UK; acknowledges that there are nearly one million young people out of work in this country; and therefore urges the Government not to lift Transitional Provisions on the movement of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens intending to work and live in the UK while unemployment and youth unemployment remain so high in this country.
That this House recognises the issues faced by those in the UK who identify themselves as non-gender, bi-gender or intersex; believes that many of those who are non-gendered or bi-gendered feel compromised and diminished as a result of inappropriate gender references on their personal identity information; acknowledges that all passports issued by HM Passport Office are currently gender-specific and it is therefore not possible to obtain a passport that contains no reference to gendered identity; understands that, alongside F (Female) and M (Male), the International Civil Aviation Organisation's Document 9303 already contains X (unspecified) as a permitted character for three permitted characters under the mandatory sex element for machine-readable travel documents; notes that this week Germany introduced a policy enabling citizens to obtain a non-gender specific X passport, that a similar policy is already in operation in Australia and New Zealand and that India, Nepal and Pakistan also recognise the legitimacy of X as a preferred option when M and F are not appropriate; further believes that allowing this possibility in the UK would go a long way to amend this discriminatory policy which denies non-gendered and bi-gendered people a legitimate identity; and therefore urges the Government and HM Passport Office to make non-gender-specific X passports available to those UK passport holders who do not identify with a particular gender.
That this House notes that Lancashire County Council (LCC) ran a six week consultation period from 6 September to 25 October 2013 on the future of Skerton Community High School; further notes that as part of that consultation 748 responses were received and over 96 per cent were against the closure of the school, along with a further 3,500 names on a petition; further notes that LCC's cabinet member for Children and Schools has ignored these representations and has authorised a statutory closure notice on the school; further notes that an email from the Cabinet Member to a parent prior to the consultation stated that he believed the school should close and is evidence that LCC has not abided by its statutory duty to take into account the views expressed in the consultation; believes that LCC must review its decision to avoid allegations of predetermination; and calls on LCC to listen to local residents and to keep this important local school open.
That this House is gravely concerned by revelations in the UN Group of Experts report to the UNSC Sanctions Committee that the recently defeated M23 militia in Congo has continued to recruit in neighbouring Rwanda; notes that in November 2012 the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Secretary of State for International Development described the finding of a similar report as credible and compelling; further notes that last October the US blocked military aid to Rwanda over alleged backing of M23 child soldiers; recalls that in December 2008 Sweden and the Netherlands revoked aid to Rwanda because of its support of militia gangs killing and raping in Congo; further recalls that in June 2012 Britain, the Netherlands, the US, Germany and others suspended aid money that goes directly to the Kagame regime because of Rwanda's support to the M23 militia; supports Save the Congo's appeal to the Foreign Secretary to call on the International Criminal Court to bring charges against principal members of the Kagame regime for aiding and abetting M23 crimes in Congo; and urges the Government fully to examine Britain's relationship with the Kagame regime, adopt tough measures and report to the House on this matter at the earliest possible opportunity.
That this House congratulates Leicester Forest East resident Sam Bailey on her stunning and triumphant victory in the X-Factor final on Sunday; notes that her outstanding range and spectacular voice has inspired the nation; believes that her victory is further evidence that Leicester is the capital of culture; and calls on the whole country to congratulate and applaud Sam Bailey.
That this House condemns the abhorrent actions of the six men who beat and raped a young woman in Kenya leaving her injured and wheelchair-bound; further condemns the behaviour of the Kenyan police who did not punish these criminals and dismissed these atrocious actions as assault, allowing them to return to the woman's family home to taunt their victim; calls for justice to be brought against the rapists and the police in Busia; acknowledges the problem of an epidemic of rape across central Africa and particularly Kenya; further calls for Kenya's General Inspector of Police to take appropriate action against the policemen responsible and to ensure justice is brought; and further acknowledges the legal support being given to the young woman by Kenya's Coalition on Violence Against Women and its work in raising awareness of the issue.
That this House is aware that social care can provide people with mental health problems the practical support they need to stay well by supporting them with their washing and dressing, shopping, bills and appointments; notes that it can also play an important part in stabilising mental health problems by helping people to cope with their daily lives; is therefore alarmed by reports that the Government is considering the introduction of a national eligibility threshold which will exclude most sufferers from support; and calls on the Government not to adopt such criteria which is shortsighted, unfair and discriminatory.
That this House celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Downing Street declaration signed by British Prime Minister, Rt hon. John Major MP, and the Irish Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds TD, on 15 December 1993; believes that the remarkable contribution of these two leaders to developing the path of peace is too frequently overlooked and that the Declaration itself stands as a monument to their shared commitment to overcome the legacy of history, to heal divisions and create a lasting settlement between the peoples of Britain and Ireland; recognises that the Prime Minister's re-affirmation that the British Government has no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland, his statement on self-determination and the Government's stated commitment to encourage, facilitate and enable the achievement of agreed structures, played a pivotal role in creating confidence in a process of negotiation to be pursued exclusively by peaceful and democratic means; and urges the Government to be vigilant against threats while continuing to foster agreement and reconciliation encompassing the totality of relationships within Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and between Britain and Ireland.
That this House regrets the announcement of Trinity Mirror that the iconic Liverpool Post newspaper is to close after almost 160 years of publication in the city; notes that the circulation of the title, formerly the Liverpool Daily Post before it went weekly in January 2012, had dropped to 4,000 since this change; expresses its concern for the future of other local news titles that have moved away from daily publication; asks that Trinity Mirror work with the National Union of Journalists on delivering its commitment to avoid redundancies and to invest in its weekend newspaper and digital publishing, so that local journalism in Merseyside can continue to flourish; believes that local news provision is vital to the cultural and democratic life of communities; and therefore calls on the Government to work with the industry, unions and local communities to ensure that such assets are protected.
That this House commends the judgement of City analysts Liberum Capital who say that the Hinkley Point nuclear power station deal is economically insane offering a price for electricity at double the going rate, index linked and guaranteed for 35 years; agrees with the head of Ineos, Jim Ratcliffe, that the price of £95 per megawatt hour agreed with Électricité de France is a rip-off especially when the company simultaneously agreed a price of £38 for French customers; is alarmed that future British industry and domestic users will be forced to buy some of the most expensive electricity in the world, adding to the burdens of domestic bills and putting industry at a competitive disadvantage; and calls for a full disclosure of the deal and parliamentary debate.
That this House condemns Universities UK for promoting gender apartheid by supporting the segregation of women at universities; notes that this is contrary to the spirit of university, its ethos and academic freedom; believes that those involved in this decision should resign and that the decision should be reversed immediately; and urges the Minister of State for Universities and Science to launch an inquiry into the workings of Universities UK.
That this House notes that Lancashire County Council has recently consulted on the closure of Skerton High School; further notes that the vast majority of respondents opposed the closure, but that Lancashire County Council has indicated it will close the school anyway; believes that an email from the Lead Member for Children's Services, sent before the consultation stating that he believed the school should close, is evidence that the county council had made a decision before considering all the facts; further believes that the county council must review its decision to avoid allegations of predetermination; and calls on Lancashire County Council to listen to local residents and to keep this important local school open.
That this House notes that the Lincoln Close Illuminations in Morecambe were switched on over the weekend of 1 December 2013 by David Morris MP and Dr Alison Birtle, a clinical oncologist; further notes that this event raises much-needed funds for Derian House Children's Hospice; thanks the large number of people from the local community who supported this event; and congratulates Ian and Diane Clifton who have organised the illuminations for the last 16 years.
That this House admires the nobility of spirit and political judgment of former President Nelson Mandela; recalls the wisdom of his final speech as President of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations General Assembly on 21 September 1998; further recalls that the very first resolution of the General Assembly, adopted in January 1946, sought to address the challenge of the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction; further recalls the document submitted by the non-aligned states to the UN General Assembly in 1998 entitled Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: The Need for a New Agenda; agrees with Mr Mandela's call that all members of the UN should seriously consider this important resolution and give it their support; backs Mr Mandela's view expressed in his speech on 21 September 1998 that the question of whether these terrible and terrifying weapons of mass destruction are needed should be asked, even if such a question were to sound naive to those who had elaborated sophisticated arguments to justify their refusal to eliminate such weapons; and believes that the Government should take all steps to deliver the elimination of all nuclear weapons of mass destruction as demanded by President Mandela.
That this House expresses concern about the possible closure of Calderdale's Accident and Emergency (A&E) department; recognises the vital role local A&E services play in meeting the health needs of local people; notes that thousands of people access treatment at Calderdale's A&E department every year; further recognises that closing that department would force people from Halifax and other communities to travel out of the area to access A&E treatment; calls on the Government and local NHS bosses to make clear what their plans are for local health services; further calls on the Government and local NHS bosses to make clear there are no plans to close Calderdale's A&E department; praises the NHS staff who do such an excellent job at Calderdale Royal Hospital; urges decision-makers to formally consult with and take into account the views of Halifax and Calderdale residents who overwhelmingly want to see the future of the local A&E department secured; and hopes that Calderdale's A&E department will continue to be at the heart of NHS provision in Halifax.
That this House notes the recent open statement signed by Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Twitter and AOL calling for reform of government surveillance; welcomes their calls for reform to restore the public's trust in the internet; supports the five principles they identify about limiting governments' authority to collect users' information, oversight and accountability, transparency about government demands, respecting the free flow of information, and avoiding conflicts among governments; agrees that they form a sensible basis for reform of digital rights; and calls on the Government to support their statement and make reforms that ensure that government surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent and subject to independent oversight.
That this House notes that Abdul Qader Mollah has been sentenced to death by the courts in Bangladesh for crimes committed during the 1971 war; further notes that international monitoring organisations have concluded that the judicial process which led to Abdul Qader Mollah being found guilty of war crimes was deeply flawed; believes that the execution of Abdul Qader Mollah would be unjust and wrong and do nothing to promote peace and reconciliation in Bangladesh; calls on the Government to make urgent representations to the Bangladesh authorities not to proceed with this execution; and urges the Bangladesh authorities not to proceed with this execution.
That this House notes the Dogs Trust's famous slogan, A Dog is For Life, Not Just for Christmas, is 35 years old this year and was created in 1978 by the charity's Chief Executive, Clarissa Baldwin OBE, at a time when thousands of people were buying puppies to give to family and friends as Christmas presents, resulting in puppies being abandoned in the New Year; recognises that, despite many years of campaigning by Dogs Trust, there still exists a problem of dogs being given as Christmas presents and notes that 34 per cent of children will ask for a puppy this Christmas; further notes the problem of dogs being given as Christmas presents is still a major concern in a country where there were 112,000 stray and abandoned dogs taken in by local authorities last year, 9,000 of which were put to sleep; and wholeheartedly supports the Dogs Trust in its determination to ensure that one day all dogs are cared for by responsible owners, and have a home for life.
That this House supports the Freedom of the Cross campaign which highlights the struggle that many Christians have in their faith in the workplace and public arena and feels that their right to do so must be upheld.
That this House believes that it is unacceptable that the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has not publicly disclosed its Division of Surgery Strategy document and its proposal to centralise most surgical services across Gloucestershire and integrate some of these services currently provided by Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucester Royal Hospital on to one site; further believes that the Trust should now fully disclose its report and publish the costs and benefits of combining services across Gloucestershire; further believes that the Trust should make clear the precise timescale of any proposed changes and fully explain what changes are being proposed and what the effect on jobs will be; and further believes that the Trust should engage in a full and open public consultation as the current secret discussions risk a loss of confidence in the management of the Trust to deliver a full range of health services in both Gloucester and Cheltenham Hospitals.