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 applauds the work done by the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group (BEIRG) in highlighting the imminent threat to a £15 billion per annum British entertainment industry posed by the Digital Dividend Review being undertaken by Ofcom; recognises that there is no feasible commercial alternative to the use of analogue equipment in the Programme Making and Special Events sector and that Ofcom's plan to auction off the analogue spectrum is likely to damage irreparably a world leading industry and lead to the end of live performances and events; notes that the use of sufficient interleaved analogue spectrum is essential for the continued production of world class entertainment; and urges the Government to guarantee that sufficient quality and quantity of such spectrum be available to prevent the collapse of such a renowned and valuable UK industry.
That this House recognises that free and independent trade unions are a force for good in UK society around the world and are vital to democracy; welcomes the positive role modern unions play in providing protection for working people and winning fairness at work; notes the 1906 Trades Disputes Act granted unions the legal freedom to take industrial action; regrets that successive anti-union legislation has meant that trade union rights are now weaker than those introduced by the 1906 Trades Disputes Act; therefore welcomes and supports the TUC campaign for a Trade Union Freedom Bill whose principles include better protection for workers, such as those sacked by Gate Gourmet in 2005, the simplification of ballot procedures and to allow limited supportive action, following a ballot, in specific circumstances; and therefore urges the Government to bring forward legislation to address these proposals.
That this House notes that under the terms of the London Underground Public Private Partnership (PPP) Tube Lines, a consortium of Amey and Bechtel and its multinational cleaning contractor, ISS, are responsible for cleaning trains and stations on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines and that since the introduction of the PPP Tube Lines has reported pre-tax profits of £150 million; is concerned that Tube Lines has ordered a substantial cut in the value of its station and train cleaning contract; further notes that this cut will mean the loss of 100 station cleaning jobs amounting to a 50 per cent. reduction in cleaning staff working on stations and bring additional pressure to bear on a poorly paid and vulnerable group of workers; and therefore supports the RMT campaign to reverse these cuts and urges Tube Lines and ISS to reconsider their plans.
That this House congratulates Doncaster Council, Mayor Martin Winter, the Stadium Management Company and the main contractors Carillion on completing the magnificent new Keepmoat Stadium on schedule and under budget.
That this House congratulates Wockhardt Pharmaceuticals on the expansion of production facilities for animal insulins to cope with increased demand as a result of Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical's discontinuation of their pork insulin and thanks the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Leigh, for his Department's role in ensuring that animal insulins continue to be available for those people who need them, but regrets that Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals has begun a systematic discontinuation of their synthetic `human' insulin products in favour of insulin analogues, further reducing patient and physician choice; expresses grave reservations that many patients are being transferred to insulin analogues before their long-term safety has been established and before studies recommended by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medical Products have been carried out to investigate the potential for carcinogenic effects of insulin analogues; and therefore requests that the Secretary of State for Health asks the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to assess the safety, clinical and cost effectiveness of all insulins to provide patients and clinicians with the necessary information to make informed treatment choices.
That this House welcomes the news of the appointment of Sir Nigel Sheinwald and John Sawers as Her Majesty's Ambassadors to the United States and the United Nations, respectively; further congratulates Kim Darroch on his appointment as Permanent Representative to the European Union; recognises that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the premier diplomatic service in the world and these appointments reflect the great expertise and dedication found within the Department; notes that relations with the United Nations, the European Union and the United States are three of the most important relationships for the UK; and believes that they will continue to improve and remain effective under these new appointees.
That this House, while accepting that the legal aid system is in need of reform, is concerned that the Government's planned implementation of Lord Carter's proposals could force several hundred law firms out of business leaving vulnerable clients without access to effective representation; is concerned that the proposals identified in the Carter Review could further endanger the supplier base; notes that the changes to the proposals announced by the Government on 28th November 2006, while welcome, do not go far enough; welcomes the Law Society's `What Price Justice' campaign to boost awareness of the potential risk to the most vulnerable people in society and notes that it is supported by MIND, the NSPCC, Shelter, the Refugee Council, the Child Poverty Action Group and others; and calls upon the Government to guarantee a legal aid system ensuring quality representation and fair access to justice for all.
leave out from `Kingdom' to `recommend' in line 6 and insert `but urges the Prime Minister to commence discussions with the Royal British Legion prior to any recommendation'.
That this House deplores the arrest of Maya Evans at the Cenotaph for publicly reading out the names of British soldiers who have died in Iraq without prior authorisation from the Metropolitan Police; considers that section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 is a fundamental affront to free speech, the right to protest and the traditions of this country; and calls on the Government to repeal the powers at the earliest opportunity.
That this House notes that more than 2,000 people from all over North Cumbria marched through Penrith on 15th December to protest against the closure of community hospitals, the largest demonstration in living memory; believes that the closure plans are ill thought out and that travelling nurses cannot give the same level of 24-hour care as community hospitals; further believes that bed blocking in the acute hospitals will increase and the cost of nursing home care will far exceed any savings made by the closures; and calls on the Government to end its discrimination against rural areas and cancel these closure plans.
That this House congratulates Harold Pinter on being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature; and believes that, in honouring him, the Nobel Prize Committee is also honouring English literature, English drama and the English language as expressed by a master who, in all his work, has remained valiant for truth and who has given voice to ideas and to people who are silenced.
That this House congratulates the people of Venezuela on their successful elections for a national assembly; notes that in successive ballots the people of Venezuela have voted for social justice and better links with other Latin American countries; and calls upon the international community to respect the wishes of the people and cooperate with the Government of Venezuela.
That this House supports wholeheartedly the UK's planned bid for the 2011 WorldSkills Competition; commends the WorldSkills competitions for recognising outstanding achievement and providing the motivation and knowledge to aspire to higher standards; notes the success of previous countries who have held the WorldSkills Competition, including Finland, Switzerland and Korea; believes that WorldSkills 2011 would be a triumph for the nation's skills and for the economy in general, particularly in the run-up to the Olympic Games; recognises the fundraising ability of those involved in the bid and the relative ease of securing the necessary funds over the next five years; and urges the Government to lend its unconditional support to winning the bid.
That this House commends Canine Partners for their dedicated assistance to people with disabilities, through the provision of specially trained dogs; acknowledges the improved quality of life, companionship and enhanced independence that a dog can provide to people with reduced mobility; congratulates Canine Partners on the opening of their new National Training Centre at Heyshott in West Sussex; and hopes to draw attention to the extraordinary selflessness exhibited by everybody concerned with the charity.
That this House objects to the proposal to merge Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and Greater Manchester Police forces into two or three new forces; believes that Cumbria Police should remain as a single entity; deprecates the short period of consultation that the police have been given on the proposals; disagrees with the view that merger is the only option to make the police service fit for purpose; and is extremely concerned that the letter from the Home Secretary to the Association of Police Authorities threatens financial sanctions if they do not agree to comply with the ridiculously short timescale for the consultation.
That this House is deeply concerned at the proposal of the Post Office to cease the direct operation of the Crown post offices at Bathgate, Coatbridge, Dunfermline, Perth, Glasgow Hope Street and Dumfries and franchise them out to the Spar supermarket chain so the Post Office counters service will be delivered at the back of often inadequately-sized general stores; believes that the Post Office has not provided adequate financial or service level information to justify the proposals or allow them to be assessed and challenged; notes that previous decisions to franchise Crown Post Office services into supermarkets have not been judged a success by the public with complaints of poor levels of service; and calls upon Post Office Ltd. to think again about these proposals which it has suspiciously put out for consultation over the festive season, so that a dialogue can begin with the hon. Members and other representatives of service users in the areas affected before the Post Office commits itself to actions which will damage the service it delivers in Scotland.
That this House expresses its disappointment over the lack of significant progress to correct imbalances in world trade at the latest round of World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong; notes that developed countries, particularly the US and those within the EU, sought to push for open markets in developing countries, but failed to agree substantive measures to end domestic protectionism; further notes that the EU and US did not agree to end the dumping of agricultural products in developing countries; welcomes the agreement to end agricultural export subsidies but notes that EU export subsidies were already being phased out; and calls on the UK Government to take forward the Make Poverty History agenda by promoting action within the EU and at the World Trade Organisation to make fairer world trade rules a reality.
That this House sends its best wishes to Mohammed Chaudhry, his wife and two children, who will be spending their first Christmas holidays together in seven years following his detention in June 1999 in Saudi Arabia; notes that Mr Chaudhry, after being held without charge for 34 months was charged with negligence over supplies missing from Riyadh military hospital; further notes that Mr Chaudhry's superior, Captain Meshal, though also found guilty in March 2002 of negligence and forgery, was fined the same as Mr Chaudhry, the equivalent of £400,000, but never imprisoned and is believed to have been promoted; further notes that, even after being released from prison in June 2004, Mr Chaudhry was not allowed to leave the country for over a year whilst the Saudi bureaucracy confirmed his inability to pay the fine and agreement was reached between the members of the Saudi Royal Family in charge of the Ministries of the Interior, Defence and the Governorship of Riyadh to petition the Royal Diwan; and believes that Mr Chaudhry's treatment by the Saudi authorities constitutes a breach of natural justice and human rights and expresses concern that the recently retired Saudi Ambassador, Prince Turki, whilst regularly appearing in British media defending his country's human rights record, never kept his promise, at a meeting in May 2003 with Mrs Chaudhry and the hon. Member for Birmingham Selly Oak, to provide a translation of the court judgement, which was never explained in English, nor replied to several letters from the hon. Member.
at end add `and the opening of a platform at Belford station to enable passengers to use the Newcastle - Chathill trains which stop there to turn round.'.
That this House notes that telephone calls received by the computerised voice recognition system used by the TV Licensing Authority for address transfers are often terminated or transferred to human operators for completion because the software cannot understand regional and national accents and dialects; further notes that the software specifically does not understand the accent used widely in the North East of England; further notes that the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom have accents which are not received pronunciation English; is proud of the diverse regional and national accents used within the United Kingdom; and calls upon the Government to ensure that all publicly-funded voice recognition systems are able to be used by people with regional and national accents and dialects generally spoken in the United Kingdom.
That this House welcomes the announcement of the Secretary of State for Transport that vacant Eurostar platforms will be used to improve train services rather than provide space for more shops and offices; acknowledges that South East Trains will already benefit from the Channel Tunnel rail link and the forthcoming Thameslink 2000 projects; urges that train services in the new South West Trains franchise should be the benefactor of the vacant platforms once Eurostar moves to St Pancras; acknowledges that South West London has missed out on major transport infrastructure investment for far too long; and notes that these changes would mean less congestion outside Waterloo station, which is among the most overcrowded in the country with over 250,000 people a day using its commuter services.
That this House notes with enormous gratitude the sacrifice made by all United Kingdom armed forces through the ages in defence of this country and its values; notes particularly the very special nature of the sacrifice made by those who fought in the First World War in appalling conditions and with terrible loss of life; further notes that there are very few veterans of the First World War still living in the United Kingdom; and urges the Prime Minister to recommend to Her Majesty that the particular nature of their sacrifice be acknowledged and celebrated by granting a state funeral to the last British veteran of the First World War at the time of his death.
That this House congratulates Animals Asia on its successful parliamentary reception on 13th December, which drew further attention to the disgraceful treatment of moon bears by Chinese bear farmers, who keep the bears in horrendously small cages, and implant metal catheters into their gall bladders; notes the unrelenting energy and vigour which Jill Robinson MBE continues to employ in pursuing the heroic task of freeing the bears from their horrific torture; wholeheartedly endorses Animals Asia for saving 200 bears to date; and calls upon the British Government to do all in its power to stop this evil practice, so that the lives of 7,000 bears need not be filled with pain and fear.
That this House notes that bowel cancer is the United Kingdom's second biggest cause of cancer deaths, affecting over 35,000 people each year, of whom almost half will die; further notes that 90 per cent. of lives could be saved by earlier detection and treatment of bowel cancer; believes that improving public awareness of bowel cancer will be crucial to maximising the effectiveness of screening and reducing deaths from the disease; supports Beating Bowel Cancer's 2006 Loud Tie Campaign and the call for the nation not to be tongue-tied about bowel cancer; and urges the Government to work closely with the charity to improve education and awareness of bowel cancer throughout the United Kingdom.
That this House notes the consultation on health services in Calderdale and Huddersfield being conducted by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust and the Huddersfield and South Huddersfield Primary Care Trusts; calls upon the trusts to ensure the provision of full maternity services, with midwives backed up by physicians in Huddersfield; urges the trusts to reconsider plans to transfer maternity, obstetrics and paediatric services to Calderdale Royal Hospital; and calls on them to prioritise the health and wellbeing of mothers and children by ensuring they have access to full specialist maternity services in Huddersfield.
That this House pays tribute to CHASE Children's Hospice, which serves many children in Surrey and South West London and West Sussex; notes particularly the assistance provided by Christopher's in Guildford which they run; and calls upon the Government to address the future funding of children's hospices by ensuring that primary care trusts make a fair contribution to the cost of services that the hospices provide on behalf of the NHS.
That this House accepts that Zimbabweans refused asylum in the UK cannot be returned to Zimbabwe because of conditions prevailing in that country; is concerned that their ineligibility for state benefits renders many destitute; and calls on the Home Secretary to grant them the right to work so they can support themselves financially and make a contribution to society during their time in the UK while developing their professional and technical skills in order to contribute to the rebuilding of Zimbabwe once political change renders it safe for them to return.
That this House is opposed to the proposals in the Treasury's consultation document Banknote Issue Arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland; notes that the ability of Scottish banks to issue their own notes is a longstanding tradition; further notes that although the consultation document implies that its main aim is to strengthen this arrangement, there are several issues that contradict this; believes that Scottish note issuing is a matter of pride and of promotion of Scotland and has well-founded economic benefits; and calls for the Treasury to abandon any plans it may have to tamper with the current arrangements which work perfectly well.
That this House is shocked at the information in the recently published Amnesty International report, Nowhere to Turn to: Violence against Women in the Family, which states that one woman every hour is thought to be killed through domestic violence in Russia; notes that there is a chronic lack of protection for women in Russia such as shelters for domestic violence victims; further notes that the criminal justice authorities, including police, prosecutors and courts respond extremely poorly to such violence; and calls upon the Foreign Secretary to make representations to his Russian counterpart on this matter urging implementation of the recommendations in the Amnesty International report by the Russian government to improve substantially the protection of the country's women.
That this House is concerned about those who are homeless this Christmas, particularly in light of reports warning of an extremely cold winter; notes with deep concern that the extent of the problem of homelessness is far worse than Government figures suggest, with the continuing issue of the hidden homeless including people staying in temporary accommodation; praises the work of charities such as Crisis, Shelter and the Simon Community and also local organisations such as St George's Crypt in Leeds which provides shelter, food and support to the homeless each year over the Christmas period; and commends the work of volunteers for their dedication and hard work in giving up their time over the Christmas period to help some of the UK's most vulnerable people.
That this House expresses its concerns over the high number of animals abandoned over the Christmas period; calls for more to be done to tackle the issue of abandoned animals including the use of licensing of pet vendors and greater education of potential owners; acknowledges the valuable work carried out by Yorkshire Animal Sanctuary and other professionally organised sanctuaries; notes that these sanctuaries are commonly staffed by volunteers and financed by the generosity of the British public; and commends organisations including the Cats Protection League and the RSPCA for their valuable work and for helping to remind everyone of the old adage that a pet is for life, not just for Christmas.
That this House pays tribute to the development of BBC's Test Match Special (TMS) programme over the years to become a much loved institution; congratulates them on their coverage of the recent momentous Ashes series; pays special tribute to the inimitable Henry Blofeld, who was recently recognised as the BBC's most popular cricket commentator topping the latest poll of cricket journalists by Wisden Cricket Monthly; regrets that he was not included in the TMS commentary team which covered England's series triumph at the Oval test match in September and the current tour of Pakistan; hopes to hear this individual national institution broadcast from India on England's forthcoming tour and in the future; further recognises that the TMS's special place in Great Britain's affections comes from the individual character of its commentators and summarisers; and urges the BBC to protect this institution by continuing to draw on the services of broadcasters of the individual quality and character of Henry Blofeld, who are the heirs of the tradition established by John Arlott and Brian Johnston.
That this House expresses its deep concern about the findings of the European Ramazzini Foundation for Research on Cancer, showing a repeated incidence of malignant tumours in rodents through aspartame ingestion at usage levels lower than the acceptable daily intake for humans, set by American and European health regulators; notes that when licensed for use in the UK, the EU and the international community, a number of scientists responsible for assessing its safety have been shown to have direct or indirect links with the sweetener industry; further notes that when aspartame was approved in the UK in 1984 by the Committee on Toxicity, four of its members including its chairman, Professor Turner, had ties with the sweetener industry and one member in particular, Francis Roe, claimed to have commercial links to so many industries that his impartiality was guaranteed; recognises that the World Health Organisation's joint expert scientific committee also numbers several of its experts working as paid consultants to the sweetener industry; acknowledges that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) counts four of its 19 members with direct or indirect links to the sweetener industry; expresses deep concern that with the impending review of the Ramazzini study, a conflict of interest might stand in the way of the EFSA committee reaching a fair and impartial judgment about the safety of aspartame; and calls on members of the European Aspartame Review Panel who possess links to the sweetener industry to step aside whilst the review of the Ramazzini study takes place.
That this House notes the recent efforts to commercialise Terminator Technology, a genetic use restriction technology, which is designed to prevent through genetic modification farm-saved seeds from germinating; further notes the recent granting of a Terminator patent in Europe; is concerned that this technology will force farmers to purchase new seed each season, thus increasing corporate control of the food supply and threatening the food security of people in developing countries; is not convinced that this technology will prevent GM contamination of non-GM crops, food and feed supplies; is further concerned that this technology may present a threat, especially to farmers' and indigenous peoples' livelihoods, health and biodiversity; and urges the UK Government to follow the precautionary principle and therefore continue to defend, in upcoming meetings of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and elsewhere in 2006, the existing decision that products incorporating Genetic Use Restriction Technologies should not be approved for field testing and commercialisation.
That this House expresses its disgust at the obscene level of bonuses being paid this Christmas to speculators in the City of London; and calls on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to introduce a windfall tax on these payments in order to use that tax to cover the current deficits in NHS expenditure.
That this House notes that yet again following the draw for major European football competitions football fans throughout the UK are being ripped-off by Easyjet and Ryanair; further notes that supporters of Glasgow Rangers who wish to see the game against Villarreal in Spain are facing extortionate increases in fares in as much as Ryanair fares from Prestwick to Barcelona were increased from £8 to £119.99, and Easyjet fares from Stansted to Valencia were increased from £19.99 to £139.99 and from Prestwick to Stansted from £12.99 to £39.99, immediately the draw was announced; and calls for action to be taken to stop such blatant profiteering on such occasions.
That this House congratulates Evo Morales on his success in the Bolivian election; notes his campaign was dominated by the demand that oil and gas reserves should benefit the people of the country and a rejection of new liberal economies; and trusts the international community will respect the wishes of the people and co-operate with the new government.
That this House congratulates Darren 'Dazzler' Gough on winning the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing competition together with his partner Lilia Kopylova and pays tribute to his hard work and dedication; thanks all the other competitors and the programme makers for excellent and worthwhile entertainment with its donation to charity; wishes Darren all the best for the future; and looks forward to his dancing school in Barnsley and his future dancing successes.
That this House is concerned that the Government's policy on procurement in the healthcare sector will undermine patient choice, innovation and patient care, particularly with the provision of stoma care products and services, pressure area care, chemical reagents and wound care, where patients, industry and professionals are expressing alarm at the potential for increased risk to patient safety and well-being; recognises that an emphasis on financial savings could be counter-effective in passing the cost on to other areas of public sector provision; notes that the Assistive Technology sector of medical devices, in particular, is highly service-orientated and failure to recognise this in value for money calculations will result in patients being seriously disadvantaged; and calls for the current policy to be brought to an immediate halt and for more appropriate models to be reviewed urgently in conjunction with patients, industry and professionals.
That this House congratulates Mohamed El Baradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency on winning the Nobel Peace Prize; agrees with his statement during his acceptance speech that the world should work to make nuclear weapons as universally condemned as slavery or genocide; and calls upon the United Kingdom Government to further that aim by meeting its responsibilities under Article VI of the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to advance quickly towards a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
That this House agrees with concerns raised by trades unions, city investors, business leaders and charities over moves to abolish the Operating and Financial Review (OFR) without due consultation; further notes the importance of the OFR for greater corporate transparency in providing a forward-looking statement of a company's non-financial performance which can have significant impact on the success of a company and its employees; and believes that companies should report on their community, employment, environmental and social matters, as well as related policies and performance.
That this House believes that all leaseholders, whether with private or social sector landlords, should have the same rights in relation to accounting for leasehold monies; welcomes the proposals in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 addressing these issues; regrets the announcement by the Government on 29th July that because of concerns raised by local councils the proposed measures on accounting for leasehold monies would not be taken forward; and, noting the continuing media stories of social sector leaseholders faced with large bills for major works, calls upon the Government to reconsider that decision and provide those leaseholders with the protection they deserve.
That this House condemns the Home Office ruling whereby a foreign national with a genuine and subsisting marriage to a British national and who needs to regularise their stay in the United Kingdom either must return to their country of origin to apply for a UK spouse's visa, accompanied by their British spouse and British young children, which often has a hostile environment and presents an unacceptable risk, or the foreign spouse must travel alone and face an indefinite separation resulting in a stressful disruption to family life and support for the family; and calls for the Home Office to exercise the granting of discretionary leave to remain in the United Kingdom even when the requirements of the Rules are not met but where there are genuine Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) reasons which make removal inappropriate.
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the National Health Service (General Dental Services Contracts) Regulations 2005 (S.I., 2005 No. 3361), dated 6th December 2005, a copy of which was laid before this House on 9th December, be annulled.
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the National Health Service (Personal Dental Services Agreements) Regulations 2005 (S.I., 2005, No. 3373), dated 7th December 2005, a copy of which was laid before this House on 9th December, be annulled.
That this House welcomes the result of the Inchyra by-election in Grangemouth on 16th December which saw the SNP vote increase by 42 per cent. to win the seat by a majority of 321 votes; notes the vindication of the policies of the SNP administration of Falkirk District Council and SNP candidate, Angus Macdonald; and further notes the attempt by the honourable member for Falkirk East to influence the election by personally writing to every elector and the results of that intervention.
That this House is deeply concerned by the proposal of Reuters to cut more than 100 jobs from its London news operation and its news bureaux around the world; expresses its concern at plans to transfer jobs to low-wage economies in Asia with poor employment rights; further expresses concern that Reuters will make substantial cuts in editorial budgets; believes such cuts will damage the company's reputation for accuracy and integrity; and urges the company to think again and compete on the basis of the highest quality not the lowest cost.